The Broken Memories of a Dying Planet
by Janiqua
Summary: COMPLETE NOVELIZATION! Cloud Strife knew there was a lot he couldn't remember about what happened five years ago. It didn't bother him until he and his friends made a terrible discovery...
1. Prologue A Failed Experiment

Hey everyone! Just before I start my story, I want to warn you all that there are major spoilers for the game of Final Fantasy VII. I know, that's probably obvious, but I'm saying it just in case... Also, I want to let you all know that as much as I love the story, I've only watched my brother play the game, I've never played it myself... And when I watched it, that was two summers ago... So I've done some research and stuff, and I've tried to get my story as close to the game as I could, but if some things turn out different, there's not much I can do about it right now. I hope you're all still able to enjoy reading the story... Just another note, I have added some things and I have put my own perspective on a lot of this. I don't think it changes too much or takes too much away from the story... But I'll leave you allto be the judges. Please read, review, but please don't hate! (LOL)

**Prologue: A Failed Experiment**

_The night outside in the town of Nibelheim was dark and silent, the stars overhead offering little comfort to a town that still lay in ruins from a terrible fire that had broken out three weeks earlier. The only survivors had been gathered up and brought into the hidden basement of the Shinra Mansion – the one building in the town that survived the flames – and had since then been used by a research team funded by ShinRa Incorporated for experimentations that were about as conspiratorial and inexplicable as the fire itself had been._

_Supervised by Shinra Inc.'s very own, widely renowned Dr. Hojo, these scientists had experimented particularly on two individuals. And results were finally beginning to show._

_Dr. Hojo and two of his colleagues stood in the basement of Shinra Mansion, their eyes intent on a sixteen year old boy – their current test subject – who lay unconscious on a table. But that unconsciousness would not last, as his eyelids began to flicker._

_Dr. Hojo caught his breath as the boy awoke. Now, at last, he could see if his experiment had worked! He leaned over the boy. "How do you feel? Can you answer me?"_

_The boy's eyes, blue-green in color, but literally glowing due to high exposure from Mako energy, flashed towards the scientist. "I… feel tired."_

_"You'll have all the rest you may require," Hojo promised. "Do you remember anything?"_

_Images tore through the boy's mind. Countless images... Memories. There were so many that it confused and frightened him. He could see someone in his mind fighting. Had that been... was that who he was? "SOLDIER...?"_

_Hojo's eyes gleamed in triumph. This particular boy had never been in SOLDIER – an elite team of warriors under the administration of ShinRa Incorporated, the most powerful conglomerate on the planet. Governing, practically _ruling_, countless territories, it had more control over the world than anything else ever had. If this boy was remembering being a part of that, then Hojo's experiment may yet have been successful!_

_"Yes!" he told the boy. "You were a part of SOLDIER!" The lie did not bother the scientist at all. "What else do you remember?"_

_Screams. The boy could still hear them in his mind. That same warrior he had remembered moments before... was it himself? Or someone else...? He remembered that man, but the memories were vague. He couldn't think straight. It was all too fuzzy. "There was a fire..."_

_"Yes," Hojo prodded. "And then what?"_

_The boy pictured a second man. A tall, muscular, powerful man with a cruel face. He had long, silver hair that fell down his back. His eyes were blue, but they, too, glowed powerfully. That glow... it came with being part of SOLDIER. He dressed in thick black leather to protect his body in a fight, and two silver, metal pads rested on his shoulders. His face... it was the clearest thing in the boy's mind. That face... which was suddenly engulfed in flames._

_"Sephiroth!" the boy shrieked, suddenly bolting upright. Hojo scrambled backwards as his two assistants rushed forward to restrain the boy. They forcefully pinned him down on the table._

_"Let me go!" the boy screamed frantically as he struggled pathetically. "I have to find Sephiroth! I have to fix the destruction he caused!"_

_"Damn," Hojo cursed as the boy was injected with powerful sedatives. "That didn't work."_

_"It wasn't too far off, though," one assistant suggested helpfully. "He did think he was in SOLDIER once, right? But he was just a lowly guard. A nameless face in ShinRa's army, right?"_

_"We don't know what he meant when he mentioned SOLDIER," Hojo shot back. "His eyes had that glow even before we started the experimentations. So, despite the fact that he's not in SOLDIER, he's been contaminated with an extreme amount of Mako energy before. Don't ask me how. And that makes farther experimentation with this one pointless." Hojo was scowling. They couldn't inject him with any more Jenova cells because the Mako energy within those cells, added to that Mako energy already inside of him, would predictably begin shutting down the boy's body systems. He would die from it._

_"He's nothing but a failed experiment now," Hojo declared unhappily. "He's of no more use to us. Put him back in the test tank and place that in storage. Perhaps he can serve some other purpose at some time in the future."_

_But before anyone could comply, another scientist ran into the basement laboratory with express panic on his face. "Dr. Hojo! We've got a problem!"_

_"Other then the fact that President Shinra will _never_ get the perfect clone he wants?" Hojo grumbled, turning towards the scientist. "What?"_

_"The... The... SOLDIER... he's escaped the test tank he had been placed in!" the scientist shouted._

_"Who did?" Hojo asked with a frown. For the only SOLDIER on his mind at that moment was Sephiroth, and he was dead. But then he remembered the other SOLDIER who had been with Sephiroth before the fire three weeks ago. "You mean Zack?"_

_At that moment, the ceiling above them collapsed down upon them. Hojo and the three scientists around him shouted in surprise and fear as heavy rubble came crashing down. One man was completely buried. The others were slightly buried as well, and Hojo found his legs pinned down underneath some sort of beam. For a moment, as the debris settled, everything grew still._

_And then a man jumped down into the laboratory from the room above. Hojo glanced up to see a handsome figure dressed in blue slowly and cautiously taking in his surroundings. The man was still relatively young and had short, dark black hair, and Hojo knew, even though he couldn't see his face that he had, dark blue eyes with that same glow. For Hojo knew this man really _was_ a member of SOLDIER, a powerful warrior named Zack._

_Suddenly the man saw the unconscious boy lying on the table, having been miraculously spared from most of the rubble. What bruises were already forming on the boy's face and arms and body came only from the smallest pieces of debris that had landed against him._

_"Thank God," Zack breathed, rushing over to the boy's side. "You'll be okay, little buddy." He carefully lifted the teenager up off the table, holding him as if he weighed no more than a child. And as Zack turned towards the door – his escape – his eyes caught sight of Hojo._

_"Please!" the scientist called to the SOLDIER. His plea caused him to cough as he breathed in dust. "Help me!"_

_Zack regarded Hojo coldly. "Tell me something, Doctor. How exactly can you make a clone out of a grown man?"_

_Usually one to keep his scientific knowledge secret – so as not to lose his value in the eyes of ShinRa Inc. Hojo was then desperate not to be left pinned down like this. For once his secrets poured out quickly and easily. "When Sephiroth was a baby, he was injected with Jenova cells!" That wasn't entirely true... Sephiroth had been injected with Jenova cells while he had still been in his mother's womb... But Hojo wasn't about to tell Zack that._

_Nevertheless, Zack's eyes hardened. Hojo would experiment on a baby? Such a thought disgusted the SOLDIER. What kind of man experimented on children? "Keep talking."_

_"Those cells are what helped shape Sephiroth into who he was before he died!" Hojo exclaimed. "We've recently genetically engineered other cells from Jenova so that they match Sephiroth's. In theory, those cells, when injected into a specimen, will multiply once inside, and they initiate the inevitable transformation of the other cells in the body that make up the central nervous system, the brain in particular! They change the cells that give a specimen its strength, and which makes a specimen an individual! He would, in theory, become _exactly_ like Sephiroth was when he had still been alive!"_

_Zack stared down at the boy in his arms. "So what has happened to him? He's going to wake up as Sephiroth?"_

_"No!" Hojo shook his head. "It was just in theory! We have yet to make a successful clone! The experiment failed!"_

_"So he still is who he was?" Zack demanded, but apprehensively._

_"I don't know!" Hojo shouted. "Perhaps! I guess it would depend upon the strength of his own individuality."_

_"For your sake, Hojo," Zack spoke fiercely. "He better wake up and still be himself." With those words said, Zack turned to carry the boy out of the laboratory._

_"Wait!" Hojo demanded as the two other scientists who still lived looked after Zack in alarm. "What about us?"_

_"Can't waste any more time," Zack stated coldly without looking back. "ShinRa soldiers are going to be after us, now aren't they?"_

_"You can't escape," Hojo shouted angrily. "You or the boy! You'll both be killed!"_

_"Then helping you will get me nothing," Zack said softly, almost sadly, as he continued out of the laboratory, leaving the trapped scientists behind._


	2. The Reactor

**Chapter One: The Reactor**

**(Five Years Later...)**

Night had fallen on the city of Midgar. As a train pulled in not far from the Mako Industrial Complex, nothing at all in the city seemed any different than it did on any other night. But this night would in fact be much different. It would be the start of it all...

The train stopped, and four figures jumped off. They gathered in the shadows, away from the train's station, waiting for their latest orders. This part city itself was not exactly what one would call upper class. What with the Mako Complex right there, it was contaminated with natural death and grime.

One figure turned to look at another, who was a stranger to the rest. Tall, well built, wielding a large, large, giant of a sword sheathed onto his back, this man had a look that generally kept others away from him. He looked to be around twenty or twenty one. His hair was short and blonde, his eyes blue-green, but with a strange glow, and his face was handsome and pale. Dressed completely in dark blue, he also wore a frown, and seemed entirely too focused.

"You're from SOLDIER," the first man noted, staring into the other man's glowing eyes. "Makes it kind of odd seeing you here."

Those words caused a woman in the group to tense and look at the stranger in shock. "Is that true? Doesn't that make _you_ the bad guy?" The stranger glared at her, but wasn't able to respond quick enough.

"Boss said he quit, Jessie," the first man had cut in. "He's with Avalanche now." The man glanced sideways at the stranger. "Didn't catch your name."

The stranger looked back, somewhat reluctantly. All right. _Extremely_ reluctantly. But he didn't fail to answer. "... Cloud." Cloud Strife. But he never volunteered his entire name when it wasn't a necessity.

"Cloud..." the man was nodding. "I'm Biggs. Girl's Jessie, and he's Wedge." He gestured to the one man who had thus far been silent.

Cloud stared at Biggs resentfully. "I don't care about your names. I don't plan on hanging around here long enough to even learn your faces. When this job is over, I'm done."

Before the others could respond to that, a new figure emerged from the shadows. The man was tall. More than that, he was _huge_! Built like some kind of wrestler or body builder or something, he must have been more than twice Cloud's size. He was black in skin, and his black hair grew extremely short, and only on the top of his head. He wore black pants, but no shirt other than just a large brown vest with spikes jerking out from the shoulder straps.

But more than his size, something else about this man caught one's eye. One of his arms was missing. In its place, there was a huge barrel of a machine gun. This man possessed a weapon that could not be taken away from him. And it was he who the small group had been waiting for. His name was Barret Wallace, and as he reached the group, he wore an extremely angry expression on his hard, well worn face.

"The hell you doin'?" he demanded of them in a voice that was low, deep, and slightly guttural. "I thought I told you never to move in a group!"

Cloud watched silently as Biggs, Jessie, and Wedge all apologized. He couldn't believe this. He had agreed to work with a bunch of suck-ups.

"Forget it, we're too busy," Barret cut in, noticing Cloud's apparent criticism. "Our target's the North Mako Reactor." He glanced at Biggs. "Take Jessie and Wedge and head along the back streets towards it. The new guy and I will go along the main road. We'll meet on the bridge in front of it."

Biggs nodded. "Be careful, sir!" Without even glancing at Jessie or Wedge, he took off, knowing the two would be close behind him. Barret glanced towards Cloud, but the young man was already sprinting towards the Reactor. Barret hastened to catch up.

The main road was being carefully patrolled by at least a dozen guards. As Barret and Cloud ran, the former shot down whoever got in their way with his hefty machine gunned arm. Cloud instinctively took this in, learning how Barret fought, by nature noting the man's strong and weak points. It came with being a first class SOLDIER. But as they ran, memories raced through his mind. Memories of being a guard once, too. These men were all still young. Inexperienced. But any sympathy Cloud might have felt for them, he pushed down and ignored.

By the time they reached the Reactor's gate on the bridge, Biggs, Jessie, and Wedge were already waiting for them. Jessie was kneeling down in front of a panel on the wall, a screwdriver in hand as she fiddled with wires and buttons. Suddenly, the gate slid open. Grabbing a gun off the ground, Jessie followed Biggs and Wedge as the two ran inside.

But Cloud hesitated a moment, staring up at the giant structure that mined Mako energy. Barret waited, watching him critically. "So you're an ex-SOLDIER. Just so you know, I don't trust your kind."

Cloud forced himself to look away from the Reactor, and glared at Barret. "I don't trust anyone."

Barret nodded. He had expected as much. He then nodded towards the giant structure. "This your first time in a Reactor?"

Cloud scoffed at that. "No. After all, I _did_ work at ShinRa ya know." More images of Reactors outside the city flowed through Cloud's mind. He blinked, and pushed them away.

"Yeah?" Barret demanded angrily. "So then you're aware of what they do? And how this planet's full of Mako energy, which people use here everyday? It's the lifeblood of this planet. But ShinRa keeps sucking the blood out with these weird machines!"

Mako energy. The ultimate non-renewable resource. It came directly from the planet. Which was exactly why the city appeared so encrusted with grunge and death. Cloud did _not_ want to think about the dying world he lived on. He glared at Barret. "I'm not here for a lecture. Let's just hurry."

Barret nodded and the two raced into the complex after Biggs. They scurried over to the side of the building, where a side door had been opened. Inside, they moved stealthily from one square, undecorated, unfurnished room to the next. They eventually caught up with the others outside an elevator.

Biggs smiled when he saw Barret, and nodded at Wedge. As Jessie deciphered the code on another wall panel by the elevator door, the two men raced off in another direction.

"Done," Jessie declared, having successfully deciphered the code. The elevator door slid open, and the three companions stepped into it. They headed down into the earth.

Though Cloud had asked for no lectures, Barret had had, on his sprint through the Reactor's complex, time to think about his own particular beliefs. Passionate to a fault, he turned towards Cloud, almost pleadingly, in order to win another man to his side. "Little by little, the Reactor will drain out all the life in the world! And that'll be that."

Cloud glanced at Barret, then looked away. He could feel both the man and Jessie staring at him. The woman seemed uncomfortable about the entire situation, and backed slightly into a corner of the elevator. But Cloud didn't seem to care. "It's not my problem." God knew he had enough issues to deal with already. He was only twenty one, but he could still feel tired and weary of life, as if he were forty years older than he actually was.

Barret stared at the man in frustrated disbelief. "The planet's dying, Cloud!"

Cloud rounded on Barret, the fact that he wasn't even half the black man's size never once fazing him. "The only thing _I_ care about is finishing this job before security comes!" The elevator opened, and Barret, Cloud, and Jessie rushed out.

They worked their way through twisting corridors and down another set of stairs. As they went, Cloud could almost taste the energy that was being mined down there. He had felt Mako energy before – all SOLDIERS had. It was what gave their eyes that glow. Cloud hated the stuff. Hated what it meant. What it represented.

They soon arrived outside the room in which the actual Reactor was located. The temperature had increased exponentially down here, and Cloud could feel sweat pouring down his face as he, Barret, and Jessie all struggled to catch their breaths. Jessie opened the door.

The room inside was circular, and there was a large tank in the middle of it. The tank itself took up the majority of the room. Cloud had seen Mako tanks before, but apparently neither Barret not Jessie ever had, for they just stared at it in shock.

"Damn," Barret said, impressed. "When we blow this place, there ain't gonna be nothing more than a hunk of junk!" He glanced towards the mercenary. "Cloud. You set the bomb."

Cloud stared at Barret in slight surprise. "Shouldn't you do it?"

"Hey!" Barret snapped. "I never was no part of SOLDIER! _You'll_ be setting the bombs, and _I'll _be watching your back." Jessie glanced out the door behind them as Cloud and Barret leered at each other.

"Fine," Cloud finally spat. "Be my guest." He walked over towards a computer panel that was built into the tank. Opening it, he made several rather dangerous adjustments directly to the Reactor tank. And with an increased level of combustible chemicals and a major increase in pressure, Cloud effectively put in place a working time bomb.

But then Cloud's vision blurred. He had been fully aware of the Mako energy around him as soon as he had entered the complex, even to the point where he had thought he could taste it. And now his body was beginning to react to it. For a moment, he thought he had blackened out.

A voice echoed in his mind. _"Watch out! This isn't just a Reactor!"_

Cloud forced himself back to the present. He shook his head slightly, only to find that Barret was at his side, holding him up and supporting him.

"What's wrong?" the Avalanche leader asked the mercenary, more than a little concerned. Cloud looked up at him, and Barret thought he could see traces of confused anguish in the younger man's expression. That, for some reason, greatly unsettled the man. "What's wrong, Cloud?"

The mercenary pushed away. "Nothing. Sorry." He glanced back at the Reactor. "Come on." He faced Barret and Jessie, both of whom were looking at him in concern. "Let's get out of here." He gestured towards the tank behind him. "I'm giving that thing ten minutes, and it'll blow."

Jessie turned and bolted from the room. Cloud and Barret followed, quickly catching up with her. They sprinted back the way they came, towards the elevator.

But as they were running up the stairs, Jessie stumbled and fell. Barret kept going, but when she let out a pained cry, he and Cloud stopped and looked back. She had fallen into a heap on the stairwell, curled up so that both of her hands could clutch her ankle. The two men immediately knew something was wrong with it.

Without even a moment's hesitation, Cloud was running back towards her. He knelt down beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist, helping her back onto her feet. At that moment, six soldiers suddenly appeared on the floor below them.

Cloud and Jessie looked back at them in alarm. They all had weapons out and were approaching the two, intent on the kill.

"Cloud! Get down!" Barret shouted from the landing above. Cloud immediately obeyed, bring Jessie down with him. Barret threw up his arm at the men below and began firing the machine gun that had been fitted to it. Two men went down before the rest hastened to retreat.

Once again, Cloud pulled Jessie to her feet and helped her up the stairs. As they went, he asked her: "How bad is it?"

She might have been a suck-up, but Cloud noted she was a tough one as she glanced his way. "I'll make it." Cloud nodded, and when they reached the top, she pushed him gently away from her and tested her ankle. She grimaced as pain shot up her leg, but managed to hold out. She started towards the elevator, and Cloud and Barret followed. Though they were forced to move slower now, they still went forward confidently.

At one moment, Cloud and Barret had run ahead of Jessie. It was then that Cloud looked at Barret with his first sign of approval. "Your people are strong."

Barret nodded. "They believe in what they're doing." He frowned at the other man thoughtfully. "I wonder if _you've_ ever been motivated through your beliefs." Cloud merely stared at Barret. A moment later, Jessie caught up.

"Let's get on that elevator!" she urged. Barret nodded again, and they continued towards it. When they reached it, they hopped on and took a lift up towards the surface. When the door slid open again, Barret, Jessie, and Cloud found Biggs and Wedge waiting for them.

"Let's go!" Barret shouted, and the five sprinted towards their way out of the North Mako Industrial Complex.

OOOOOOO

Night had long since fallen on the city of Midgar. It had seemed like it had been a normal, average, predictable night. But as a horrible, tremendous explosion shook the city, it marked the beginning of it all. Things were starting to change. And they would never be the same again.

OOOOOOO

Hidden in the shadows of the city, safely away from the explosion and the chaos on the Reactor complex that followed such things, the small group of Avalanche members caught their breaths.

Biggs was grinning. "That should keep the planet going..." He let out a deep breath. "At least a little bit longer."

"Yeah." Wedge agreed. They seemed happy, Cloud thought. Even Jessie, who sat on the ground rubbing her ankle, dared to smile. Cloud glanced at Barret. He was staring back towards the Reactor complex. Flames could be seen even from where they sat... and the smoke had to be clearly visible throughout that sector of the city.

Barret finally turned towards the group. "All right. Now let's get out of here. We'll split up, rendezvous at the Sector Eight Station, catch the train, and get the hell outta here."

Biggs was immediately gone. Cloud watched in slight surprise as Wedge helped Jessie to her feet and headed off with her in another direction. He looked at Barret. "But what about-"

"If you're asking about your money," Barret cut in sharply. "Save it till we're back at the hideout." Without another word, Barret was gone.

Cloud frowned. Well that was just _fine_! Letting out a frustrated breath, he followed suit and made his way towards the sector's train station.

Along the way, families living in that sector of Midgar stood outside their homes with expressions of shocked disbelief as they stared at the smoke. There were several soldiers around, and Cloud easily avoided them. But as he did so, he set himself up to hear the whispers of men and women, family to family and neighbor to neighbor. Whispers of what might have happened. Rumors of a terrorist group named Avalanche. Prayers that no one had been hurt.

Cloud heard them all as he went. He felt some guilt by what he had done. But then he thought about the payment he would receive from this. He had learned long ago that life as a mercenary wasn't always going to be a clean one. But Cloud hadn't felt clean in over five years.

As he rounded a corner, he suddenly found himself face to face with a girl around his age. He stumbled to a surprised halt, as she did, and for a moment they just stared at each other.

"Excuse me," the girl said in a sweet, innocent sounding voice as she gazed at Cloud with wide blue-green eyes. She was very pretty. She wore a pink dress with a red, short sleeved jacket over it. There was a black ribbon tied round her neck, and a golden bracelet on each of her wrists. Her hair was very long, a lustrous brown that she wore in a braid down her back with a pink bow. She was holding a basket, and her face seemed so young and pure while she looked at him kindly, as if life in Midgar had not changed her at all from when she had been a little, sweet young child. "Could you please tell me what happened?" She was staring into his eyes with such awed wonder that Cloud suddenly felt self-conscious about them.

"Nothing," he said automatically before realizing what a stupid answer that was. _Of course_ something had happened! _Come on, Cloud,_ he told himself harshly. _You used to be in SOLDIER! Get it together!_ "I mean..." he spoke awkwardly and suddenly looked down to see that in the basket she was holding there were several red flowers. He gazed at them in honest surprise. "Don't see many flowers around here." No. There were no flowers here... Flowers didn't grow in Midgar.

The girl looked down at her basket, seemingly pleased. She must have realized Cloud didn't want to talk about what had happened. She simply let it go, which was another thing that Cloud found surprising. Not to mention refreshing.

"Oh, these?" she looked back up at Cloud, and was once again taken with his glowing eyes. "Do you like them? They're only a gil..."

Without question, Cloud dug into his pocket and fished for the money. She seemed genuinely surprised when he handed her a coin.

"Thank you," she looked up at him and smiled gratefully. She gracefully handed him a flower. "Here you are!" Cloud stared at her for a minute before he accepted it. Her smile was so... it was unlike any he had ever seen in Midgar. Most people in the city, pretty much all of them in this particular sector, were incredibly poor. And if this girl was out selling flowers, than she was no exception. And yet... she looked so happy... filled with life. For some reason it proved contagious – for the first time in years Cloud felt a sense of calm tranquility inside him. And though he didn't even know this girl's name, he felt like he owed her so, so much...

He took the flower and immediately walked past her. He continued down the road, refusing to look back, unable to keep from thinking that if he spent any more time with her, she'd cast some spell over him from which he'd never be able to escape.

And since he did not look back, he did not realize that the girl had turned to watch him leave, her eyes as wide as they had been when she had first looked at his face. There had been something painfully familiar about him... "Your eyes," she whispered to herself. "They looked liked Zack's eyes."

Cloud stormed towards the train station. Distracted even after ten minutes of furious walking, he simply found himself unable to get the strange flower girl's image out of his mind. Who was she? And what right did she have to be so... angelic?

Cloud could hardly remember a time when he wasn't a cold, calculating fighter who endured his inner turmoil without question or want of happiness. Though his memories of life before that moment five years ago, when things had changed for him, were still fuzzy, even after so long, he honestly felt that he had grown past childhood happiness. He had grown up... realized what a cruel world it was that he lived on. And he was okay with it. He had become comfortable with it. Thoughts of changing the way he felt kind of scared him. And that was what bothered him about the flower girl. For he felt that if anyone could bring him inner peace, it might be her... and so on one level he hoped he would never see her again. He was not comfortable with the thought of changing. For at that moment, he did not realize that on another level, a hidden level, the thought of changing sounded slightly appealing.


	3. The Promise

**Chapter Two: The Promise**

The train was ready to leave sector eight. In one of the cars, a small group had gathered together and were sitting nervously waiting for the ride to begin.

Wedge glanced over towards Barret uncomfortably. "Cloud never came." Barret looked up sharply, and Biggs was nodding.

"Wonder if he was killed..." the latter suggested, sounding slightly regretful. But Barret waved that off.

"No way!"

Jessie, from where she sat on a bench by herself, was rubbing her ankle again and feeling utterly miserable by the thought of Cloud being dead. "...Cloud..."

"Say," Biggs glanced around at them, feeling rather poetical. "Do you think Cloud's going to fight to the end for Avalanche?"

"The hell should I know?" Barret demanded, as he did _not_ feel the slightest bit poetical. He glared at Biggs. "Do I look like a mind-reader?" But with his next dejected comment, they all knew he was as worried about Cloud as they were. "If y'all weren't such screw-ups..."

Suddenly the car's door opened as Cloud entered. And not a moment too soon, either, for a second later the train began to move.

Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie all looked at the mercenary in surprise. "Cloud!"

"Hey," he glanced at them guiltily. "Looks like I'm a little late."

Barret was on his feet. "You damn right you're late! Come waltzing in here making a big scene!"

Cloud shrugged, not wanting to tell them he had been distracted by a girl. "It's no big deal. Just like I always do."

Barret was practically steaming in his anger. "Shit! Having everyone worried like that! You don't give a damn bout no one but yourself!"

Cloud looked at Barret in surprised amusement. "You were worried about me?" If it were possible for a black man to turn beat red, then that was what Barret suddenly did.

"Wha?" He glared at Cloud furiously. "I'm taking it out of your money, hot stuff!" He looked around at Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie. "Wake up! We're moving out! Follow me!" With that said, he turned and proceeded towards the next car down.

As Wedge passed Cloud in order to follow Barret, he looked at the mercenary with a smile. "Hey, Cloud. You were great back there." Cloud frowned.

Biggs chuckled as he noted Cloud's bafflement. _Kid must not be used to compliments._ He nodded at the mercenary. "Cloud! We'll do even better next time!" He raced after Barret, laughing to himself.

Jessie walked over to Cloud with a smile. But then she saw something on his face and her smile broadened. He looked at her nervously, and she reached up to wipe something off his cheek. "You've got ash on your face!"

"Stop that," Cloud drew back, clearly confounded by so many good spirits. First that flower girl, and now these three! He wondered what was happening to the world he had become familiar with.

"You're right," she chuckled. "We're all dirty, aren't we?" Her shining eyes suddenly dimmed for a moment. "I... just wanted to say thanks. For helping me back there at the Reactor."

Cloud glanced down at her feet, and saw that she was favoring her strong leg. Her other ankle must still have been sore. He looked into her eyes and nodded. "I hope you heal fast." He spoke those words awkwardly, and her eyes lit up again in amusement. She nodded and turned to follow the other men into the next car.

Cloud shook his head in disbelief, sighed, and followed as well.

The next car over was by far more luxurious than the first. It was also becoming a private room, Cloud noticed, as Barret stared down an old couple – who quickly hastened out of the apartment and into another car. No one, Cloud realized, wanted trouble with a black man his size. The mercenary shook his head again and rolled his eyes.

As Barret stood at the door, and as Biggs and Wedge shared a celebratory glass of wine, Cloud casually walked over towards Jessie. She was standing at another panel on the wall of the moving train when the conductor's voice suddenly came over the intercom.

"Last train out of Sector Eight Station. Last stop is Sector Seven, Train Graveyard. Expected time of arrival is 12:23 AM, Midgar Standard Time..."

The conductor continued speaking, but Cloud tuned that out as he looked at the screen Jessie was studying on the wall. When she noticed him, she smiled.

"Oh, hey Cloud." She saw that he was interested in what she was looking at, and stepped sideways to make room for him. "It's just a map."

"Of what?" Cloud asked, and Jessie grinned.

"The Midgar Railing System," she explained. "I have to be honest with you, I'm really interested in this kind of stuff. Always have been. I used to wanna be an engineer..." She sighed and stared at the screen thoughtfully for a minute.

"Anyway," she snapped out of it and glanced at Cloud. "Here." She pressed a button on the panel and the image on the screen changed. "This is a complete model of the city of Midgar. This particular one isn't the best I've seen, but considering the design of this city, any model's going to be good no matter what! This city's fascinating, really!"

Cloud had to agree with her. The city wasn't completely level with the ground. It was, in effect, a _huge_ tower in itself. A city built into the world's largest skyscraper. Rising about fifty meters above ground, there were eight plates held in place by a large variety of support structures. One plate was held up by such a structure directly over the last, and on each plate was a section of the city. Of the many support structures, the greatest one went upwards towards the sky through the center of each plate. It was along this structure that the train followed on a spiraling track up to the top plate.

"Look," Jessie pointed to several dots on the map. "These are where the eight Reactors are." There were eight of them in Midgar, one on each of the eight plates. They were what provided the city with electricity... Electricity generated by Mako energy.

"One for each sector," Cloud noted. Jessie nodded, glancing at Cloud thoughtfully.

"Did you know they used to have names for each sector?" she asked softly. "But now they've been numbered because no one remembers what those names were... It's so sad."

"There's typical Midgar for you," he looked at her and noticed her eyes were alight with unshed tears.

"I hate this city," she told him unhappily, turning away from the screen and the panel. "It's like a prison." She limped away from him and sat down by herself on a bench.

Cloud sighed, glancing one last time at the map on the wall before walking over to Barret. He was staring out a window, no longer paying attention to the door. When Cloud greeted him, he didn't even turn to face the mercenary.

"If the plate above us wasn't there," Barret said, still staring out the window. "You could see the sky... the stars."

Cloud glanced out the window, but all he could see above them was the plate. It seemed like the longer they waited for the train to spiral up to the next level of the city, the more likely it would be for the plate above them to fall and crush them. "It's unsettling."

Barret looked at Cloud in surprise. "Wow. Never expect ta hear someone like you say something like that. You're jes' full of surprises." He nodded towards the top plate above them. "It's cuz of that one there that the people living underneath are suffering. With all the pollution the Reactors make, there's nowhere for the contamination to go. The city's filled with polluted air. And if that's not bad enough, the Mako energy itself is being drained from the planet by those damn Reactors."

"If it's such a problem," Cloud said stoically. "People should just move up to the top plate." He knew that was a childish remark. He didn't know why he even suggested it. Barret let out a laugh.

"People're too poor to do that," he said sadly. "Besides... a lot of people aren't like you, Cloud. They aren't wandering mercenaries looking for odd jobs. They've got homes. They've settled down with their roots. It doesn't matter how polluted the city gets, they're just too stubborn to call it quits and leave. They... just too attached to where they feel they belong."

"I know," Cloud assured the older man. "No one lives in the slums because they want to." Barret glanced at Cloud in surprise again, and the mercenary shrugged. "They're helpless. Like this train. It's helpless to run anywhere except to where its rails take it."

"Man," Barret muttered, shaking his head slightly. "Didn't expect that from you." Cloud looked away from him, and Barret let out a deep breath. "What are you, Cloud? A fighting philosopher who doesn't give a damn about his own planet?"

Cloud thought about that for a moment. Who was he? Honestly? At the moment, he didn't know the answer. He didn't belong with SOLDIER. He didn't belong with Avalanche. Though both groups would accept him should he choose one over the other. But he just felt like he was missing something very important. Something neither group could offer him. And he didn't know what it was... or what it meant.

OOOOOOO

The train finally came to a stop. As Cloud and the rest of Avalanche got off and stood on the large station's platform, Barret called them round.

"Yo! Get over here all 'ya!"

Cloud glared stoically at Barret as Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge came to huddle around their giant of a leader.

"Look," he was saying. "The mission was a success, but that don't mean we can get lazy! The hard part's still to come! Don't y'all be scared of that explosion 'cause the next one's gonna be bigger than that! Meet back at the hideout! Move out!" With that said, Barret turned and ran towards the slums of sector seven. Biggs and Wedge remained with Jessie, however, and the three walked more leisurely. Cloud found himself in his own company once again as he walked at his own comfortable pace towards the 'hideout'.

The slums in which Avalanche made their home was like any other slum. Built as it was on a metal plate, there was no grass, no dirt, and as Cloud had earlier acknowledged, there were certainly no flowers. Everything seemed to be constructed from metal, and it gave the slums of Midgar a hard and cold appearance.

It was at that moment either late at night or very early in the morning. Very few people were out, and no one seemed to be in a sociable mood. Mako energy provided electricity, and several street lights were turned on to allow Cloud to see his surroundings. And as he had heard that night, over and over again by members of Avalanche, it just seemed so completely miserable. It gave the name of Tifa's bar a very ironic sound.

The Seventh Heaven. Tifa Lockheart was a twenty year old woman Cloud had known his entire life. She ran the bar that Barret called home – the building itself had a large porch leading to the building's second floor which was where the actual bar was. Barret's apartment was underneath it, on the first floor. He lived there with Marlene, his adopted daughter, who Tifa often looked after when he was away.

When Cloud entered the Seventh Heaven, Barret was sitting at the bar with a glass of cold beer, completely alone. But that changed almost immediately after Cloud's appearance. For suddenly a little girl in her pajamas came flying around a corner.

"Papa!" she shouted in utter delight. Barret stood when he saw her running towards him, knelt down, and scooped her up in his arms. Considering his size, and then looking at the size of the tiny girl who couldn't have even been ten, it was a miracle that she was not squished in his loving embrace. Cloud hung back as he greeted the girl, but noticed when another woman followed Marlene out from the other room, though at a slower pace.

"Hey kiddo!" Barret was exclaiming, as he tossed her up into the air and caught her with ease and gentleness Cloud hadn't known the man possessed. "What 'cha doing outta bed so late?" Marlene laughed out loud in childish joy.

Tifa was smiling. She dressed in black pants with a white sleeveless shirt that lay tight against her body, accenting her perfectly shaped curves. Her forearms were covered by black gloves that reached her elbows yet did not cover her fingers. Those fingers... her entire hands, actually, were covered in calluses that came with both her labor and her martial arts. Tifa was, in fact, a proficient fighter...

Her hair was a bright and lustrous brown that fell past her waist, even past her knees. The ends of her hair was tied by a brown cord that kept it from getting too tangled or too windblown, but still allowed it to flow down her back as if it were loose. Her bangs fell at a slight angle more towards her right eye than her left, but both eyes were still clearly visible. They were a shade of brown... such a shade that they almost appeared red. Sometimes they even looked gold when the light shined on them in the right way.

She was a pretty girl. Cloud had grown up with her, and considered her to be one of his closest of friends. When she saw him, she smiled. But unlike the flower girl from before, her smile was tired and often looked forced, even when she was happiest.

"Marlene!" she said, feigning strictness. Both Barret and the child in his arms looked at her, and she placed her hands on her hips. "Aren't you gonna say anything to Cloud?"

Marlene glanced towards the mercenary, suddenly shy. She waved at him quickly before burying her face into Barret's chest. Cloud couldn't stop a small smile from forming on his mouth. Fortunately for him, it was so small that no one noticed it.

Tifa strolled over towards him. "Welcome back, Cloud." Her voice was kind like the flower girl's had been, and gentle as well, but unlike the flower girl's, there was an edge in it that spoke volumes. Tifa was not in the least bit sheltered. She had seen much of the world already, as Cloud had, and was weary by it too.

"It looks like everything went well," she noted. She glanced at him teasingly. "Did you get into any fights with Barret?"

Cloud smiled again. Tifa knew him well. He nodded. "Yeah." She smiled, apparently amused by that.

"I should have known," she stated. "He's always pushing people around, and you've always been in fights ever since you were little." She shook her head at him, and spoke almost sarcastically. "I was worried."

"I can take him," Cloud told her, and she chuckled. He knew she was the one who had first mentioned his name to Barret, and thus she was the one responsible for him taking a job with Avalanche. He didn't mind that. Tifa was the only one he could think of that he could say he felt comfortable around.

"Here," he said, reaching into his belt where he had hidden the flower he had bought earlier that night under the folds in his clothes. "I got this for Marlene." He handed the red flower to her, and she stared at it in surprise.

"But there aren't any flowers in Midgar," she stated, as she carefully took it in her powerful hand. She looked back and forth between the flower and Cloud. She couldn't hide how shocked she was to see it. For a moment, she didn't even seem to believe it was real. She gazed at Cloud with great intensity, and he found himself flushing and looking away. A small smile played on her lips. "Thank you."

He nodded.

At that moment, Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie had caught up and were entering the Seventh Heaven. When Barret glanced in their direction, he placed Marlene on the ground and turned to them with his wonderfully enthusiastic attitude.

"Great! Get in here, fools! We're starting the meeting!" With that, he ran into the back room, where a tiny elevator dropped down into the apartment below. Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie quickly followed, and even Cloud went as well, but with much more dignity.

Downstairs, Barret had made a bright home with a white carpet – though by that time it was stained from several different instances – a pinball machine, a punching bag, a television, an old, lumpy couch that had seen better days, and two beds. For a such a small apartment, Cloud couldn't deny it looked cozy.

As Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie all gathered around Barret, the large black man glanced towards the mercenary. "Yo! Cloud! There's just something I wanna ask ya!"

Cloud glanced over at Barret, wondering what was on his mind and if he even wanted to _know_ what was on his mind. The man actually seemed very serious all of a sudden.

"Was anyone from SOLDIER fighting us today?" Barret asked, and Cloud stared at him for a moment as he considered the question.

"No," he said after a moment.

Barret nodded coolly. "You sound pretty sure." Not that Barret had _hoped_ there had been any... He was just kind of disappointed because it would have been incredibly inspiring to have had such a tremendous success against the elite of ShinRa's fighters.

Cloud frowned. "If there was anyone from SOLDIER, you wouldn't be standing here now." It was God's honest truth. And it pissed Barret off.

He glared at Cloud in offense. "Hey! Don't go thinking you're so bad jes cuz you was in SOLDIER!"

Cloud's frown deepened. It was hard to believe Barret had such a high opinion of himself. True, Avalanche had accomplished their goal that night, but that didn't mean they were any more than amateurs. Because they were. Their strategies involved blowing Reactors up for crying out loud! And though Cloud would do something like that for the right price, he seriously doubted ShinRa would. They accomplished their goals, as SOLDIER did, with _much_ more efficiency.

"Yeah, you're strong," Barret kept ranting. "Probably all them guys in SOLDIER are! But don't forget your skinny ass's working for Avalanche now! So don't get no ideas 'bout hanging with ShinRa!"

Cloud glared at Barret in disgust. "Hey man, you asked a question, and I answered it. That's all. I wasn't trying to hint that I'd rather stick with ShinRa." Having been offended himself, Cloud turned back towards the elevator. "I'm going upstairs. I want to talk about my money."

But at that moment, the elevator was on the upstairs level. When it came down, it was carrying Tifa. She stepped off only to be caught off guard as Cloud pushed past her.

"Hey," she objected. "Cloud, wait!" He ignored her as he stepped onto the platform, but Barret wanted the last word.

"Tifa," he said coldly. "Let him go. Looks like he still misses ShinRa."

"Shut up!" Cloud spun around angrily. What right did Barret have to talk about him? Barret didn't even know him! Didn't know anything _about_ him! "I don't care about ShinRa or SOLDIER!" Cloud was practically shouting. He felt like a rebelling teenager, which then only made him feel worse. He needed to say something that would put him back in control. He took a deep breath, staring at Barret bitterly. "But don't get me wrong. I don't care about Avalanche or the planet for that matter either!"

It had the intended effect. Barret let out an angry shout and spun around to hit the punching bag. Jessie grimaced and looked away while Biggs and Wedge tried ignoring the situation. Tifa however, couldn't bring herself to look away from the two angry men. She looked back in forth between them in shock.

Cloud hit the button that would raise the platform up to the first floor. But Tifa quickly jumped back on it before it lifted too far up. They rode upstairs together.

Cloud made towards the bar's exit, but Tifa scurried after him and reached for his arm. "Cloud, wait!" Cloud paused for a moment, still angry, but not wanting to take that out on his friend. He didn't look back at her, but she knew he was listening. "Cloud... I'm asking you. Please join us."

Cloud let out a deep breath. Of course what better time to ask him than when he was completely pissed off with her boss? "Sorry, Tifa..."

She wouldn't be rejected so easily. She spoke in a firmer voice. "The planet is dying!" There was a soft hint of desperation in her tone. "Slowly but surely, Cloud, it's dying. Someone has to do something."

Cloud spun around to face her. One thing he never really liked about her was that he couldn't lie to her. He couldn't hide his emotions from her, and at that moment, because of Barret, he was feeling very lousy. When he spoke, he couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice. "So let Barret and his buddies do something about it! It's got nothing to do with me!"

Rejection hurt. Even Tifa. She stared at Cloud huffily. "So. You're really leaving then? You're just going to walk right out ignoring your lifelong friend?"

"What?" Cloud demanded, feeling like she had slapped him. Though, on second thought, knowing how hard she punched, he knew she was being as gentle as she could possibly be while still being so upset. He immediately felt remorseful for being such a jerk to her when she didn't deserve it. "No. Tifa..."

His sudden show of remorse was contagious, and Tifa let out a sad sigh and glanced away from him. When she spoke, her voice was quiet, sorrowful, and sad. "You forgot the promise, too."

Cloud frowned. "Promise?"

She looked up at him knowingly. "See? You _did_ forget. Remember, Cloud? It was seven years ago..."

And that was why he had forgotten. Cloud remembered the basic parts of his childhood, like his friendship with Tifa, for instance. But the smaller things... they were still a blur to him. Everything that had happened before five years ago. Tiny details... he didn't understand entirely why they were so hard to remember. Just that they were. He tried thinking back to that time. Tried to remember it clearly. And then, as he stubbornly willed it to, some pieces of a memory of a night when he had been fourteen, and Tifa had been thirteen, came back hazily to him.

"Do you remember the well?" Tifa asked softly. She could remember it. She could picture it clearly. Back in their home town, there had been a well where everyone still got their water. It had been Tifa's favorite place. The troubles of the world had seemed so far away in that tiny village. She had never once imagined that they would ever reach her there. That she could grow up safe and unharmed and live her life with no excitement or danger. Simply live a boring life in content. But that was not her fate. Two years later, there had been a horrible fire...

Cloud was nodding his head. "Yeah... Back then." He glanced at her accusingly. "I thought you would never come and I was getting a little cold." He continued to remember. And all of a sudden, he could see it clearly...

_"I'm sorry I'm late," Tifa said, walking towards Cloud and plopping down on the ground beside him. "You wanted to talk about something?"_

_Cloud glanced at her and nodded. "Come this spring, I'm leaving this town for Midgar."_

_Tifa stared at him in shock. "But... all the boys are leaving our town." She sounded sad because of that._

_"But I'm different from all of them," Cloud assured her haughtily. "I'm not just going to find a job. I want to join SOLDIER. I'm going to be the best there is! Just like Sephiroth!"_

_The stars were bright that night and Tifa looked up at them thoughtfully. "Sephiroth... The great Sephiroth..." She turned back to him skeptically. "Isn't it hard to join SOLDIER?"_

_Cloud nodded. "I probably won't be able to come back to this town for awhile."_

_Tifa tried to be enthusiastic about it. "Will you be in the newspapers if you do well?" Cloud, wanting to impress her, nodded._

_"I'll try," he assured her confidently._

_Her enthusiasm grew. For though she never expected excitement or danger in her life, it was always fun to imagine. "Hey! Why don't we make a promise? Um... If you get really famous and I'm ever in a bind... you come safe me! All right?"_

_Cloud frowned at her. "What?"_

_She looked back dreamily. "Whenever I'm in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me! I want to at least experience that once."_

_"What?" Cloud repeated, staring at her as he wondered if she were for real. For what possible trouble could a girl living in a town like this one _ever_ get into?_

_"Come on!" Tifa pleaded, half teasingly and half seriously. "Promise me!" Her voice was light and happy. Innocent and naïve. It was the voice of a child._

_"All right," Cloud gave in. "I promise."_

Tifa's voice was no longer innocent or naïve. When she was happy, it still sounded like she was, and sometimes it even took on that light quality from her youth, but it was always filled with mature wisdom women her age shouldn't have with the consistency she did. It made Cloud very, very sad.

"You remember now," Tifa whispered hopefully, as she gazed at him. "Don't you? Our promise?" She wanted him to remember... because the planet was dying and she couldn't endure it any longer. She needed his help! She needed him to help her and Avalanche make some kind of difference in the world. Though she knew not to expect to make much of one. No one small group like Avalanche could ever make a giant impact on the world. But they could do something to start it... And she wanted Cloud to be a part of that more than anything. If he only understood how much she needed him. And maybe, if nothing else could, their promise could convince him.

"I'm not a hero, Tifa," Cloud told her softly, looking away because he didn't want her to see how sad he was to be unable to help her. "And I'm not famous... I can't..." his voice choked slightly, but he forced it to work. "I can't keep the promise."

Tifa pouted, feeling tears sting in her eyes as she realized how difficult it would be to convince him of anything... But more than that. It hurt her to think that her dear friend wouldn't help her out just because of their friendship. "But you got your childhood dream, didn't you? You joined SOLDIER." She forced her voice to strengthen and sound as stubborn as she could make it. "So come on! You've _got_ to keep your promise!"

He didn't say anything. Just turned away from her and walked towards the door.

"Hey!" Barret was suddenly in the room with them. "Wait a sec, big time SOLDIER!"

Cloud tried not to groan as he stopped and turned back towards the leader of Avalanche. Barret was glaring at him with as much resent as ever, and Tifa, suddenly realizing her cause was a lost one with Barret's loud mouth, turned unhappily towards the bar to wipe it down with an old wet rag.

But Barret wasn't there to pick a fight. "A promise is a promise!" he declared ironically, causing both Cloud and Tifa to start as they wondered if the man had been eavesdropping on them. But then Barret tossed an envelope towards Cloud, who caught it expertly.

When Cloud opened it and looked inside, he found a check for fifteen hundred gil. It was the payment the mercenary had expected for the job he had performed with Avalanche. Cloud glanced at Tifa, who looked back at him. When their gazes caught, Cloud suddenly came up with a plan that would help him not disappoint his best friend.

He turned arrogantly towards Barret. "_This_ is my pay? Don't make me laugh!" Barret's face suddenly twisted into anger again, and Tifa hurriedly stepped in between the two men, her eyes turning towards Cloud in confusion.

Cloud continued. "You got the next mission lined up?" He crossed his arms and glared at Barret challengingly. "I'll do it for three thousand."

That was not what Barret had been expecting. His mouth literally dropped open, and Tifa spun around to look at Cloud with sparkling, joyful eyes. Barret, at a loss for words, could only manage a meager: "...What...?"

"It's okay, it's okay!" Tifa declared, turning towards Barret in excitement. "We're really hurting for help, right?"

Barret looked at her helplessly. "But that money's for Marlene's schooling." Cloud felt a moment's regret, but before he could offer to change the price, Barret turned back towards him. "Two thousand."

Cloud smirked, and nodded while glancing towards Tifa. She looked at him happily. He hadn't let her down, and it brought him satisfaction knowing that she still considered him a good guy.

"Thanks, Cloud," she told him gratefully.


	4. The Trap

**Chapter Three: The Trap**

Morning came too soon. When Cloud woke, he was lying in an unfamiliar bed by a window. Fluorescent lights poured in through that window, for unless a person was on the top plate of Midgar, the sun could not be seen, and people relied on the electricity provided by Mako energy. It was not the best way for a person to wake up, and Cloud felt nostalgia for the childhood home he had had as a boy when all he needed to do was run outside to feel the sunlight on his face.

Cloud dressed quickly and expertly slipped his large, sheathed sword onto his back. With that in place, he was ready to head downstairs. Upon descending onto the second floor of the Seventh Heaven, Cloud found Barret talking with Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie.

"Our next target's the Sector Five Reactor," Barret was telling them. "Head for the station first. I'll fill you in on the train." The three nodded and ran outside before Barret finally noticed the mercenary. "Yo! Cloud!" He gestured for the other man to walk over to him, and Cloud obliged, hoping not to start a new day with another argument.

"I've something I wanna ask you," Barret whispered, suddenly looking ashamed. "I, um... don't really know how to use Materia." From the tone in his voice, Cloud could tell Barret wanted to be filled in on it. He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Look," the mercenary stated. "It's not that complicated. All Materia really is is another kind of weapon to use against opponents. It allows us to use techniques that no human could possibly perform without it." He thought about something someone had told him once, though he couldn't quite remember who, or where, or even when. Something about a ceiling collapsing down on a group of scientists in some sort of basement. That had been caused by a man using Materia.

"They look like small spheres," Cloud said. "They're really tiny, easy to transport. It's not that complicated, really."

"Damn," Barret grumbled, throwing up his hands in surrender. "I'm clueless. You handle the Materia then!"

Cloud nodded his consent as Tifa carried Marlene into the room.

"Hey guys!" she said cheerfully, setting Marlene down on the floor. She looked at Cloud. "I'm coming this time!" Before he could object, she looked back down at Marlene. "Don't forget to watch the store while we're gone!"

"Yep!" Marlene agreed cheerfully.

"And you know the owner of the weapons shop," Tifa reminded the girl. "He's going to be keeping an eye on you while we're gone!" Marlene nodded enthusiastically and Tifa blew her a kiss good-bye before turning and rushing out of the Seventh Heaven.

Cloud glanced at Barret. "Tifa's coming?"

"What?" Barret demanded. "We need all the help we can get, and she can kick any man's ass any day!"

"Yeah," Cloud agreed, knowing that better than anyone. "But..."

"Forget it!" Barret warned him, turning to Marlene to say good-bye. Cloud sighed and decided to let it go. He turned and left the bar.

OOOOOOO

The train station that morning was very busy. For once inside one of the cars, when Barret tried to intimidate the other passengers into leaving, he wasn't entirely successful. There just wasn't space for the six of them to have their own private compartment.

Tifa and Cloud sat down beside each other on a bench while Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie moved into another car. Barret claimed a bench to himself, frightening several passengers who might have objected. One such passenger sat down on the other side of the car, grumbling unhappily.

"Hoodlums, again," he muttered, though loud enough for Cloud, Tifa, and Barret to hear. "God, don't I have all the luck?"

Barret turned towards the man angrily. "You say something? I said, _you say something_?" Several passengers in that particular car decided crowding into another one wouldn't be such a bad idea, as the gigantic black man with a machine gun for an arm was looking really mad. As they left, however, Barret seemed surprised. "Yo, look at that. It got empty alluva sudden."

Cloud glanced at Tifa, and she just rolled her eyes and smiled at him. But the man who had spoken in the first place, and who had stubbornly refused to move, did not look the least bit amused.

"Hey!" he glared at Barret with angry boldness. "It got empty because of _you_! Guys like you!" He shook his head, but when Barret glared at him, his face paled. He abruptly changed the subject. "Have you seen the news lately? That terrorist group, Avalanche, says there'll be more bombings!"

Cloud and Tifa suddenly tensed, and looked at the man in interest. Barret had crossed his arms and stared at the man indifferently.

The man was feeling self righteous. "Only devoted employees like me would go to work on a day like today."

Barret scowled. "You working for ShinRa?"

The man stared at Barret in disgust. "Well, I don't give in to violence... that's for sure." He studied Barret for a moment longer, then spoke in a rude tone meant to offend. "And I won't give you my seat, either."

Barret swore and jumped to his feet menacingly. Tifa immediately jumped to her own feet as well and stepped between the two. "Barret!"

He glanced at her for a moment, then looked at the man beyond her. "Damn. You're a lucky son of a bitch." The man nodded curtly.

For a moment, no one said anything as they tried to let their tension settle. Finally Cloud looked at Barret. "So. What are we gonna do now?"

"Shit," Barret turned and looked at Cloud almost enviously. "The _hell_ you so calm about?" But then, so as to not appear jealous of the mercenary's composure, he added: "You busting up my rhythm!"

Cloud rolled his eyes when the train suddenly moved. Tifa stumbled slightly at the sudden motion, and carefully moved back to sit down beside Cloud.

"Seems like they just finished connecting the cars," she guessed. "We're finally leaving."

Cloud nodded, and repeated his question to Barret. "So what's our next target?" He couldn't particularly care less that there was a ShinRa employee in the car with them.

"Hah!" Barret glared at Cloud insolently. "Listen to Mr. Serious About His Work!" He shifted his weight and crossed his arms, feeling more significant than Cloud because he knew what was going to happen. "All right. I'll tell ya. There's going to be a security checkpoint at the top of the plate. It's an ID scan system checking all the trains."

"Which ShinRa is very proud of," Tifa added bitterly. Cloud nodded. He knew about that already. Last night, when they had been on the train heading back to sector seven, they had used fake identifications to get past that particular security system.

"Jessie mentioned something about an upgrade, though," Barret commented. "Our ID's won't work this time around."

"What?" Cloud asked in amazement. "You actually put us on a train without effective identification?" He couldn't believe Barret's lack of foresight.

The black man shrugged. "So we'll just jump off. Surely that can't be too hard for an ex-SOLDIER." Cloud glared at Barret resentfully.

"Good morning and welcome to Midgar Lines," the voice of the conductor came online over the intercom. "Arrival time at Sector Four Station will be 11:45 AM."

Tifa glanced at Barret in concern. "We don't have a whole lot of time before we reach the checkpoint."

"Just make sure you're ready to jump ship," Barret ordered them. "I'm gonna go get Biggs, Wedge, and Jess." But as he turned towards the door leading to the other cars, an alarm suddenly went off on the train.

"What's that?" Tifa demanded as a red light flashed on and off in the car.

A new voice sounded over the intercom. "Type A Security Alert! Unidentified passengers confirmed! Repeat! Type A Security Alert! Unidentified passengers confirmed! A search of all cars will be conducted!"

Tifa looked over towards Barret. "Did we reach the checkpoint too early or something?"

"Must've," Barret stated as Jessie suddenly ran through the doorway and into the car. At least her ankle had healed... She glanced frantically at Barret.

"We've got trouble!" she told him. "I'll explain later! Hurry! Get to the next car!" She pushed past them towards the car behind theirs.

"Damn," Barret cursed. "Someone really blew it here..."

The voice on the intercom continued to speak. "Unidentified passengers located in Car One. Preparing for lock down."

"Let's go!" Barret ordered, waving his hand. "Keep it up!" Tifa frantically followed Jessie, and Cloud followed her with Barret in the rear. When they reached the car behind theirs, they found Biggs and Wedge waiting for them.

"Car One locked down," the intercom declared. "Upgrading to level two warning."

Biggs waved frantically towards his allies. "Hurry!"

"They're gonna lock us in, sir!" Wedge added, panicking, when he saw Barret. Jessie was already on the other side of the car.

"Just run!" she shouted, as if she were in charge. "Changing to Plan Two." She bolted into the next car. The others followed her.

"Unidentified passengers located in Car Two," the intercom stated. "Preparing for lock down!"

Barret was the last to arrive in the next car. He glanced over at Jessie. "All right! We clear?" The intercom declared the previous car had been locked down. Jessie shook her head.

"Not yet," she told him. "They're starting another check! If we're caught, we're done for!"

Biggs and Wedge stared at her in horror, and Tifa looked at Cloud, frightened. He gave her an encouraging smile, almost as if he were enjoying this. It helped lighten her fear. Barret, on the other hand, was too pissed to be afraid.

"Don't worry!" Jessie added quickly. "If we keep moving up the train, car by car, we should get past it!"

The conductor's voice came onto the intercom, sounding puzzled. "Unidentified passengers...? Moving to the front of train. Currently tracking location."

"Come on!" Jessie commanded, running into the last car in the back. The others followed her. As the train continued to lock down behind them, they came to the very end of the cars. Standing on the fenced in platform outside the train, but inside a long tunnel between plates, they nevertheless felt the wind around them in the tunnel air.

"Yo!" Barret said with a large grin. "We made it! All right! Let's go!" He waved towards the tracks behind the train. "We're gonna dive outta here!"

Tifa stared at the larger man as if he were out of his mind. She couldn't believe this! She glanced frantically at Cloud, hoping to see at least _some_ apprehension in her friend, just for the comfort of knowing she wasn't the only one afraid. "Scary... Huh..."

He glanced at her and shrugged. "Too late to be saying that now." But then his expression turned slightly accusatory. "Why'd you come along, anyway?"

She couldn't look away from his eyes. Even with the wind whipping past them in the semidarkness of the tunnel they were in, she could still see his eyes glow. "Because..."

"Hey you two!" Barret shouted impatiently. "There ain't no time for that!" Tifa spun around and looked at him, suddenly regaining her nerve.

"Yeah!" she shouted back. "I've made up my mind!" She turned to look at Cloud with a challenging smile on her face. "Watch closely! I'll jump!" With that, she turned to face the end of the train.

But before she could do anything, Cloud stepped forward and caught her by her arm. She stopped and looked at him in surprised confusion, and, staring into his eyes, she could see that he was concerned for her.

"Wait," he told her, noticing that everyone was looking at him apprehensively. He sighed, gave Tifa a soft smile, and handed her something. She looked down in surprise to see that he had pushed a small sphere into her hand. It was smaller than her fist, and grayish in color. She glanced up at him with a frown.

"What-"

"It's Materia," he told her casually. He shifted his weight. "Look. Jumping out of a train is pretty much suicide. That Materia will protect you. Just keep it close to you."

Tifa's eyes lit up in sudden understanding, and she grinned at him, holding the small sphere to her heart. And with that, she turned towards the end of the train and bolted for it, timing herself perfectly and diving out.

One by one, Cloud handed Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie a similar gray sphere, and one by one, they followed Tifa's example. Finally, Cloud glanced back at Barret. "You don't care if I go first?"

Barret glared at him self-righteously. "A leader always stays till the end! Don't worry 'bout me, just go!" Cloud nodded and tossed him his own sphere.

"Don't worry about not knowing how to use it," Cloud told the man. Barret was staring at it with a distasteful frown. Cloud looked into the man's eyes. "Just keep it close to you, and let it work itself."

"Whatever," Barret scowled, glaring at Cloud resentfully. "How many of these damned things did you bring?"

"I picked them up last night," Cloud told him. "But that was before I knew Tifa was coming. I only brought five..."

Barret started in surprise. "What? So you don't have one?"

Cloud shrugged. "But that's okay. I used to be in SOLDIER, remember? If anyone's jumping off a train without Materia, it's gonna me!"

He turned, and was about to jump, but Barret grabbed his shoulder first. "Yo! Don't go and get your ass hurt! It's only the beginning of the mission!" Cloud nodded again, and Barret smirked. "Later! You take care of the rest!"

Moments later, Cloud jumped, and Barret followed close behind. As they met with the rails, they tucked and rolled to a stop. Cloud had to admit it hurt like hell... But he had dealt with much worse before, and the only person he found himself thinking about was Tifa.

He sat up immediately and looked for her. Barret wasn't too far ahead, and he was moving just fine. There was no sign of Biggs, Wedge, or Jessie. Cloud stood up and started walking in the direction from which the train had come.

He didn't have to go far before he saw Tifa running towards him. He managed to breathe again, having not noticed that he hadn't been able to a moment before. She grinned when she reached him, pausing for a moment to catch her breath.

"That wasn't so hard," she told him. Cloud crossed his arms and didn't answer her as Barret ran towards them. She was still holding her Materia in her hand. "It worked just fine! I'm not hurt at all!"

"Where are the others?" Barret demanded when he saw that Tifa had spoken honestly, and really wasn't hurt. She glanced at him quickly.

"They said they were going on ahead to clear the way for us," she told the leader of Avalanche. "The Materia worked for them, too. They're all fine." Barret nodded and grinned at Cloud.

"Good. So far, everything's going as planned!" His cheerful good humor made Cloud almost certain the man was insane. "But better not let your guard down before we get to the Reactor! Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie got everything ready for us, so _move_ it! The Reactor's just down this tunnel!"

Barret spun around and started running down the tunnel. Cloud glanced once more at Tifa to double check on her, but she was fine. She winked at him before running after Barret. Cloud followed.

The tunnel was huge. It wasn't just for the trains moving between plates. It was also where the next Reactor was. As the three ran towards it, they found that they were approaching an area where huge beams crossed the roof of the tunnel with great, brilliant lights that slowly moving in various directions to brighten different parts of the complex.

Cloud halted, and Barret and Tifa stopped to look back at him. He gestured to the lights on the beams. "Those light beams are ShinRa security sensors," he told them. "We can't go any further."

Barret stared at him in disbelief. "But! What about Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie?" He sounded like a whining child, jumping up in down unhappily.

"Look!" Tifa pointed to a shadowed section of the tunnel near the wall. Cloud and Barret both followed her gaze and saw a small hole leading down into the ventilating system. A screwdriver was on the ground next to the hole. Tifa ran over to it and delicately picked it up. She turned towards Barret. "It's Jessie's!"

"Damn," Barret scowled, looking at the hole in misery. "That's one damn tiny hole." He glared at Tifa. "You telling me to squeeze into that and get under the plate? _Hell_ no!" He glanced at the mercenary. "Yo, Cloud! What're we gonna do?"

Cloud made a face at the leader of Avalanche. "Go down." He pointed to the hole. Wasn't that the obvious thing to do?

Barret glared at Cloud, offended, but then, when his gaze turned back towards the ventilating system, he almost looked nervous. "Hey, whatever, man. But _damn_! That thing gives me the chills."

Tifa laughed quietly and shook her head. Walking over to the hole, she climbed down into it and disappeared into the darkness below. Barret motioned for Cloud to go next, but the mercenary shook his head.

"You may be in charge, Barret," he said in a teasing voice. "But if you get stuck, you'll need someone back here to push you through."

"Son of a...!" Barret grumbled as he forced himself through. Cloud smiled, shaking his head as well, and followed.

It was pitch black inside the ventilating system. Cloud could barely see a thing. The only reason he could see at all was because some of the lights from the tunnel above shone into the ventilator. But once they started to head deeper in, there would be none at all.

"Hey man," Barret grumbled unhappily. "I think I've found a flaw in Jessie's plan, here."

"Cloud?" Tifa called, and he walked over to her and placed an encouraging hand on her shoulder. He thought he could see her smile in relief.

Suddenly a light turned on down there, and all three of them spun around in surprise. But it was only Jessie. She was running back towards them, holding a sphere in her hand that was the source of the sudden light.

"Wha's that?" Barret demanded when she reached them.

"Materia!" she told them with a smile, glancing towards Cloud. She tossed it to him, and he saw that it was a yellow orb that generated its own light. When he looked back at Jessie, the girl was producing several other spheres.

"Wedge found them lying on the ground when we first jumped down here," she told them. "Someone must have either thrown them away or lost them." She showed them to Cloud. There were four of them in all... the yellow one he held, two small blue ones, and a red one. He gathered them up and stared at them intently.

"You can keep them," Jessie told the mercenary. "Biggs and Wedge are farther down with a flashlight. We don't need Materia. We figured you'd have more use for it than we would."

Cloud nodded gratefully, before tying the three spheres to his belt and tossing the yellow one that provided their light to Tifa. She caught it easily.

Barret, however, wasn't impressed with the Materia. He was glaring at Jessie with a scowl. "Hey girl, what happened back on the train?"

Jessie suddenly looked at Barret sheepishly. "That was my fault, sir. I knew the ID's we'd been using to get around Midgar for the past few weeks were finally expired, and I thought I'd try disabling the security for the three cars we were in. I guess I wasn't subtle enough. I'm sorry."

"But it worked out, didn't it?" Tifa cut in quickly before Barret could respond. The young woman walked over to the other girl and held out her hand. Jessie looked down at it and saw that Tifa was returning her screwdriver. She grinned, and accepted it from Tifa gratefully.

"Come on," Jessie said, glancing back at Barret. "The Reactor's core extends even so far down here in the ventilator. Biggs said he was pretty sure that a bomb set from this point will still destroy it."

Barret nodded, and the four of them ran at full speed towards the Reactor core. It wasn't very far away, and in the ventilating system, it wasn't guarded at all. The core itself was, again, inside a large tank, but only a portion of that tank extended into the ventilator. Cloud wasn't sure that a bomb going off on that one fraction would destroy it, but Jessie once again assured them that Biggs was confident it would.

Both he and Wedge were waiting for them by the tank. They glanced over towards the rest of the team, ready and alert, relaxing only when they were certain it was just the rest of Avalanche.

Biggs had opened his mouth, and Cloud was certain the man was saying something, but for some reason, he suddenly couldn't hear what was being said. A moment too late, Cloud realized the Mako energy from the Reactor's core was beginning to react with his own body. It had happened before at the last Reactor, Cloud remembered, but this time it was worse. He could barely think at all as his legs collapsed from underneath him.

Falling to the metal floor, Cloud's hands reached up to clutch his head as pain ripped through his entire body. Something was buzzing painfully in his ears as his vision blackened again. For a moment, he felt like he was somewhere else entirely.

_He could see Tifa. The place they were at looked vaguely familiar to him, and Tifa was on her knees kneeling beside a still body. She looked exactly as she had five years ago, right down to the style of clothing she used to wear. She was crying, and he could see that she was soaked in blood. The man's blood... it belonged to the man who's head she was holding in her lap._

_"Papa..." Tifa's voice was younger and filled with anguish as she wept over the dying man's body. Her own body was shaking violently as she struggled to breathe._

_Suddenly unable to bear it, she pushed away from him and scrambled a few feet away. She fell into a heap on the ground, crying like she hadn't ever in her life. "Sephiroth did this! Didn't he? Sephiroth... SOLDIER... Mako Reactors... ShinRa... I hate them..." Her body shook so horribly that it looked like she was convulsing. "Everything! I hate them all!"_

Suddenly Cloud's eyes snapped open and he was back in the present. Barret was at his side, shaking him slightly as Tifa, Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge watched from a distance. They all had expressions of concern on their faces.

"Cloud!" Barret was shouting. "Damn, man! Get a hold of yourself!" Cloud glanced over at Barret, and the man exhaled slightly when he realized the mercenary was with them again. But then his face twisted into anger. "What the _hell_ happened?"

Cloud could only wonder... Barret could tell he was unsettled by it. They all were. There was something wrong with the mercenary, and that prospect terrified Cloud on a deep level.

But at that moment, they didn't have time to deal with such matters. Cloud came up with the quickest excuse he could think of as he stared at the leader of Avalanche. "You're right, Barret. That Mako energy is extremely unhealthy. Ya know, breathing in that pollution... It's disgusting."

Barret stared at Cloud suspiciously, but let it go at that. "Tch. Try not to get sick, Mr. ex-SOLDIER." There was obvious contempt in his voice, and he roughly shoved away from Cloud. "Let's set that bomb and get outta here."

Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge followed Barret towards the Reactor, leaving Tifa behind with Cloud. She walked over to him as he cautiously pushed himself back onto his feet with extreme care.

"Cloud, are you all right?" she asked him, concern resounding in her gentle voice. He looked at her, and she could see in his eyes that he wasn't. His eyes were glowing brighter than they had been minutes ago. The Mako energy in that chamber was having a serious effect on his body, and she suddenly realized with extreme guilt that he was risking his own health to be here with her just because she had, in her ignorance, asked him to be.

"Tifa..." there was an edge to Cloud's voice that she only found slightly familiar. It was his own guilt! She frowned at him. _What does he have to be guilty about? This is happening to him because _I_ asked him to join us... It's my fault..._

"What?" she asked him softly, reaching out for his hand. It felt cold to touch. She realized he was shaking slightly.

"No," Cloud suddenly pulled away from her. He shook his head and looked away from her. "Never mind." Still unable to meet her eyes, he nodded towards Barret and the others. "Come on. Let's hurry."

Tifa nodded sadly and, together, they hastened over towards the rest of Avalanche. Jessie and Wedge were working together to set their own personalized bomb as Barret and Biggs supervised.

"Done!" Jessie shouted a moment later, glancing over at Barret with a smile as she wiped her hands.

"All right then!" Barret commanded. "Let's get outta here!" But as they turned to head back the way they had come, sudden brilliant lights flashed in their eyes.

Cloud shielded his eyes with one arm while the rest of Avalanche cried out in shock, covering their faces as well. The mercenary listened to hard feet pounding on the metallic floor. It sounded like an army was coming, and at a fast pace, too. When the light dimmed, and Cloud could see again, the group was surrounded by ShinRa soldiers. There had to be at least twenty of them, and they all had guns trained on the members of Avalanche.

"Barret!" Jessie shouted as everyone cried out in alarm – with the exception of Cloud, who didn't seem the least bit surprised.

"What the _hell_?" Barret proclaimed in shock. "Shit! What the hell's going on?" His voice echoed through the ventilator system.

"My, my," a new voice came in response. "Such colorful language."

As Cloud and the rest of Avalanche watched, two men walked towards them past the soldiers. Both men were tall, broad, and well fed, but one was simply that while the other was undeniably fat. The first man had an aristocratic air about him, while the second just looked big, mean, and bulky. And while _he_ seemed thoroughly pleased with himself, the first man had an air of boredom and contempt. He was the one who had spoken.

Presently, he turned to address the fatter man. "Heidegger? _This_ is the emergency that couldn't wait, but needed my immediate attention?"

Cloud, who had recognized both men on sight, glanced at Heidegger in surprise. One of the highest ranking generals in ShinRa's army, Heidegger was also considered incompetent by most of SOLDIER. Cloud found it hard to believe that _he_ had known Avalanche was going to try something far enough in advance to plan a successful trap like this.

Heidegger glanced at the aristocrat. "Yes, Mr. President." At this, Barret, Tifa, Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge all cried out in surprise. President Shinra, though a citizen of Midgar himself, was hardly ever seen outside his private offices. None of them had recognized the president aside from Cloud, and the mercenary was the only one in the group capable of keeping astonishment off his face.

"_You're_ the President?" Barret demanded in a loud, enraged voice. It was all he could do not to raise up his machine gun of an arm and shoot the man to death right then and there.

Tifa backed away. "But... What's the president doing in a ventilator system?" She sounded completely taken aback at such a prospect.

Shinra seemed to agree with her. He rolled his eyes and nodded his head. "That's _exactly_ what _I_ would like to know." His voice was clipped and arrogant. He glared at Heidegger. "Well?"

Heidegger was chuckling as he stared at the trapped group in delight. "Think we wouldn't catch you terrorists, did you? Stupid buffoons. Didn't you realize we have cameras in _all_ our systems, including the ventilators? And here you are, running around on screen, thinking you're all _so_ smart!"

Barret spun around towards Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie. "CAMERAS?" The three of them jumped and looked at Barret with horror in their eyes.

Shinra was watching this, seemingly bored. "Oh. Then you're that... that group. I forget what you call yourselves."

"Avalanche!" Barret shouted angrily at the president. "And don't ya forget it again, either, you damn excuse for an executive!"

"I really can't say it's easy tolerating such profanity," Shinra spoke in mild disapproval.

"You get used to it after awhile," Cloud said in such composure that Shinra's attention was naturally drawn over to the mercenary.

"Are you the leader?" Shinra asked, apparently thinking higher of Cloud than of Barret, since the president disapproved of profanity.

"Is he the _what_?" Barret shouted in obvious offense. He was practically jumping up and down. "No he's not the leader! _I'm_ the leader! He didn't even _want_ to be a part of this!"

"Oh, no?" Shinra looked back and forth between Barret and Cloud. "And yet he's here. That's... unusual." Suddenly Shinra noticed Cloud's glowing eyes. His interest seemed to increase. "Oh. So you belong to SOLDIER. Your eyes betray you. You've been exposed to Mako energy."

"I won't deny that," Cloud said calmly.

"Traitor," Heidegger stared at Cloud accusingly. But then he looked back at Shinra. "Actually, Mr. President, there have been rumors of a member of SOLDIER quitting and starting up as a mercenary. Happened a few years ago."

"Hmm," Shinra studied Cloud intently for a moment. "Tell me, traitor. What is your name?"

Cloud glanced quickly at Heidegger before looking back at Shinra. He hated that question. He really did. But he wasn't about to show any kind of apprehension or respect for this group. He hated ShinRa Inc. and everyone who was a part of it with a fierce intensity, and he did not want them to think he cared about whether or not they knew his name. So he answered with smug contempt. "Cloud Strife."

Shinra nodded. "Yes, well. You must forgive my asking, but I can't be expected to remember every person's name." He then thought about that for a moment, and frowned. "Well. Unless that person becomes another Sephiroth."

The name caused Cloud to tense, and he hoped no one noticed his discomfort. Fortunately, no one seemed to.

Shinra nodded again. "Yes, Sephiroth. He was brilliant. Perhaps too brilliant..."

"Damn it!" Barret cut in furiously as his patience wore thin. "Is this how you spend your friggin' time! Reflecting on dead guys?"

Shinra and Cloud both looked at Barret in disgust, but Barret wasn't paying attention to that. He was too focused on his self-righteous passion to save the planet.

"Don't give a damn 'bout none of that!" Barret was shouting. "This place's going up with a big bang real soon! Serves y'all right, too!"

Shinra glanced at the bomb on the Reactor core's tank, and sighed sadly. "And such a waste of good power, too. Just to get rid of vermin like you."

"Vermin!" Barret shouted in offense. "That's all you can say? Vermin! _Y'all_ are the vermin! Killing the planet!" Barret pointed at Shinra. "And that makes _you_ King Vermin! So shu' up jackass!"

"You," Shinra said, staring directly at Barret. "Are beginning to bore me." He turned towards his military advisor. "You could have dealt with this without me, Heidegger. I'm a very busy man, you know, and there is a dinner I cannot fail to attend." He glanced back at Avalanche. "So you must excuse me."

"Dinner!" Barret was far from through. "Ah, _hell_ no! Don't gimme that! I ain't even started wit' you yet!"

Shinra turned his back on them. "I am sure there is something other than myself on which you may take out your anger as you attempt to make your escape before this whole area explodes, and ironically by your own bomb." With that said, Shinra began walking back the way he had come.

Tifa glanced at Cloud in alarm. "What's he talking about?" Cloud merely shrugged. But at that moment, a great hulking machine that looked like a large monster came crashing towards them. Heidegger bolted back around it, his two dozen men following suit. They retreated after Shinra, leaving Avalanche behind to contend with this new monster like machine.

"Forget this!" Biggs shouted, running towards the monster in the hope of diving around it like the members of ShinRa had been able to do. But when he attempted that, bullets shot at him from some hidden weapon in the monster's machine body. Biggs barely had time to fall back to evade getting hit. He stared at the thing in horror.

"We've only got a few minutes before the Reactor blows!" Jessie shouted in pure fear. "We don't have time to disable it!"

"That thing wouldn't let us, anyway," Cloud said calmly, gazing at the monster. "It's going to try killing us."

"Cloud!" Tifa looked at the mercenary in horror. "Is that from SOLDIER?"

"Nah," Cloud shook his head. "The Weapons Development Department at ShinRa is what creates things like that. It's a techno-soldier... But just a machine."

"Designed to kill us!" Biggs shouted urgently.

"Damn!" Barret shouted. "We don't got time for this!" With that said, Barret raised his arm and brutally fired the machine gun at the monster. But his bullets had little effect on the thing, and it generated silver energy that forcefully collided into the group, sending the six of them flying backwards. They all landed in a pile on the floor not far from the Reactor.

"So," Cloud glanced at Barret cockily. "Guns don't work. Why don't you stay out of the way, Barret!"

Before the black man could shout back in anger, Cloud was on his feet. He expertly reached towards the sword on his back and unsheathed it. It was named the Buster Sword, and it did indeed look like it could bust up anything that got in its way. It was almost as big as Cloud was.

Wielding it with great ease and expertise, Cloud made it look like the sword weighed nothing more than a knife. Barret guessed it came with being from SOLDIER. And as he watched Cloud dive towards the machine and start fighting it head on, for the first time he really could see the mercenary in action. The man moved at an incredible, practically impossible speed. As the machine fired rounds of bullets at him, Cloud somehow managed to evade each one. When he swung the sword at the thing, it left the large dents that Barret's machine gun had been unable to.

"Damn!" Barret shouted, impressed. When Tifa had first recommended Cloud to him, the black man hadn't realized how strong those in SOLDIER really were. Now that he was actually witnessing one fight, he was beyond amazed.

While Cloud fought, Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie all took the opportunity to run past the machine and out towards safety. Barret and Tifa only followed them far enough to put the machine between them and the Reactor core. There, from a relatively safe distance, they turned to wait for Cloud.

Cloud himself was doing just fine. He swung the Buster Sword down upon the monster one final time when the machine suddenly overloaded. Cloud's eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen. He quickly reached towards his belt and grabbed the red Materia Jessie had given him earlier as the machine exploded.

Tifa screamed as Barret grabbed her and threw her behind him and onto the ground. Falling down on top of her, he shielded her from the blast. A moment later it was relatively quiet again.

When Tifa and Barret carefully stood and turned around to see what had happened, they discovered there was a large hole in the floor where the machine had been a moment ago. But to their horror, the machine was gone... and Cloud was no where in sight.

"Cloud!" Tifa screamed, pushing past Barret and running towards the hole.

"Tifa!" Barret shouted, running after her. They fell to their knees at the edge of the hole and stared down. To their surprise, Cloud was still alive.

The hole created in the floor by the exploding machine had pushed through the entire plate. From where Tifa and Barret sat on the side of the ledge, they could see the sector of the city on the plate below them. It was a long drop, and Cloud, who was hanging on to the side of the ledge that had been formed in the plate they were on would surely be killed if he were to fall.

"Hey!" Barret shouted in indignation as Cloud looked up at them from where he was hanging on. "You were in that explosion, man! Ya should be dead!"

Cloud, despite his predicament, managed to smirk. "Jessie's red Materia! It protected me from the fire!" Cloud's fingers slipped slightly from the rough, jagged part the plate that he was hanging onto. He frowned as his muscles flexed and burned in pain. He wouldn't be able to hang on much longer. He had already lost his sword... it had fallen down into the city below... as he soon would if he couldn't climb back up to the edge of the plate.

"Barret, help him!" Tifa shouted frantically at the Avalanche leader. Barret glanced at her in disbelief.

"He's too far down!" he shouted at her. "I couldn't reach him even if you held onto my legs!"

"But..." Tifa looked down at Cloud. Her face twisted into both fear and anger. "You can't fall! Please Cloud! You can't die! There's... still so much I want to tell you!"

"No!" Cloud shouted back up at her. "The Reactor's going to blow! You both have to get of here, now!"

"Are you crazy?" Tifa shouted at him in anger. "I'm not leaving you here to die, Cloud!"

"Tifa, we gotta go!" Barret shouted, reaching for her. She spun around and brutally threw her leg out into a kick that sent him stumbling backwards.

Cloud felt his fingers slipping again. He was going to fall. There was nothing he could do about that now.

"Cloud!" Tifa shouted, laying down on the ground and leaning over the edge. She reached for the Materia he had given her on the train. "I have something for you! Falling's just plain suicide, so let the Materia protect you!"

He looked up at her and watched as she dropped the gray orb down towards him. Biting his lip stubbornly, he let go of the ledge so that he could catch the Materia. He managed to easily, but because he had let go, he then found himself plummeting towards the plate and the city sector that was below them.

"NO!" Tifa screamed in horror as she looked after his falling body. When Barret appeared behind her once again and had lifted her off the ground, she hadn't noticed. When he began half dragging half carrying her away from the Reactor, she seemed oblivious. She simply couldn't stop picturing in her mind Cloud... falling to his death. Tears formed in her eyes as she forced herself not to believe it. She didn't want to believe that Cloud was really dead.


	5. Aeris Gainsborough

**Chapter Four: Aeris Gainsborough**

_It was dark. And his head was really hurting. He wondered why it hurt so bad as he realized that it was dark because his eyes were closed. He tried opening them, but he couldn't. _

_A voice spoke inside his head. "Are you all right? Can you hear me?"_

_He couldn't see anyone. He didn't know who had spoken. Though the voice _did_ sound familiar. And comforting... Somewhat. "Yeah."_

_"Back then," the voice said, sounding slightly amused. "You could get by with just skinned knees." Look at you now, the voice seemed to be saying. You keep needing to get into messes like this one. Are you trying to get killed?_

_He frowned. "What do you mean by 'back then'?"_

_The voice ignored him. "What about now? Can you get up?"_

_He didn't want to get up. He wanted to understand. "What do you mean about 'back then'? What about now?"_

_"Don't worry about me," the voice said, answering his unasked question first. The one that wanted to know who it was talking to him. The voice sounded like its owner was smiling. "You just worry about yourself right now."_

_He nodded, dejectedly. "I'll try." He didn't understand. No one was giving him the answers that he wanted. Who had been talking to him? And what did it know about his past? What did it know that he didn't know? He wanted to remember clearly. To understand._

_Suddenly, he heard a new voice. "Oh! It moved!" It was a woman's voice... Pure and sweet. Like none he had ever heard before. He had to see who that voice belonged to. He had to open his eyes..._

"Hey, there..." a girl was speaking warmly to him. "Take it slowly, now. Little by little."

Cloud felt gentle hands examining his body. It was an unfamiliar feeling, but not necessarily a bad one. He moved with those hands, and tried blinking his eyes open.

"Hello?" the girl asked uncertainly. "Can you understand me? Can you even hear me?"

Cloud's vision was returning slowly. And with his vision came his memories. Memories of how he had fallen from the plate above. Tifa had given him the Materia he had originally given her. Looked like it worked. He was still alive, and from what he could tell, he wasn't badly hurt.

"Who are you?" Cloud asked in a weak, staggered voice, as he tried focusing on her. Damn. If he had a concussion, he _wasn't_ going to be happy!

"Are you okay?" she asked him, and as his vision slowly came into focus, he found himself staring at the same flower girl he had seen on his mission the night before. That girl... she had had such beautiful flowers and had smiled at him in a way that had made his heart feel warm again.

"Hey," he said, staring up at her in surprise. "It's... you." Slowly he came to realize he was lying on a flower bed in some sort of abandoned church. The girl was kneeling beside him, and she smiled kindly and nodded.

"Yes," she said in that same, soothing voice. "I recognized you too. You're very lucky." She helped him sit up as she spoke. "You had the roof come crashing down on top of me without any warning. The debris nearly buried us both alive. I'd imagine whatever Materia you have really saved your life..." He glanced at her and realized she held Tifa's gray sphere in her hands. When she saw him looking at it, she smiled again and handed it to him.

"I... crashed here?" he asked her, finally looking up from Tifa's Materia and back into her eyes. They were warm and bright, even as they stared into his glowing ones with that same intensity as before. He found he had to look away from that gaze. Instead, he stared at the flower bed he was lying in. "I didn't know there were gardens in Midgar... I'm sorry."

"For what?" the girl asked cheerfully as she smiled at him. "For landing in the flowers? That's all right. They probably helped break your fall, anyway. The flowers are really resilient here, so there's no real damage done." She quietly laughed. Her laughter was melodic, like wind chimes. "Aside from the roof, that is. They say this is a sacred place."

Cloud glanced back at her before taking in his surroundings. The church he was in was practically a ruin. It had been constructed out of white stone, and some of that stone had fallen in places, leaving chunks of pieces missing from the walls. As for the walls that did remain, most of them held windows... and while some of the windows were missing, a great many of them still had stained glass panes. The stained glass came in many colors, all of which were bright and pure. Light seemed to shine through them in such a way that Cloud almost thought the beams of light reflecting through were actually from the sun.

Ivy and other green vines grew up some of the walls. Grass grew from cracks in the floor. There were many flowers, of a variety of colors. Cloud couldn't help but stare at the growing, living plants in amazement. For them to be here, this church simply _had_ to be sacred, as the girl had said. There was no other explanation.

"They say you can't grow grass and flowers in Midgar," the girl was saying in that same innocent and angelic voice. "But for some reason, the flowers have no trouble blooming here."

Cloud looked at her again, and saw that her eyes were sparkling as she stared at the flower bed surrounding them. She seemed happy. Happier than anyone he had ever known living in Midgar. She sighed. "I love it here."

Cloud couldn't take his eyes off her. He wanted to... but there was something about her that kept drawing his gaze towards her. He had never felt this way around anyone else. It was like she wasn't even an ordinary girl. Something was radiating from her, and it touched him in a pleasant way. "I saw you last night. You were selling flowers."

She glanced back at him, and her face was alight. "And you bought one. Thank you, again. For that." She glanced back at the Materia that he still held in his hands. "It must be really powerful. It saved your life."

Cloud glanced down at the gray sphere in his hands. "Not really. Materia has become a very common thing, and this one is just to help protect you. There's a lot of Materia out there that's a lot stronger than this."

"Maybe," she looked playfully at him. "Not mine, though. The Materia _I_ have is special. It's good for absolutely nothing."

He frowned. That didn't sound right. _All_ Materia was good for _something_. "Are you sure? You probably just don't know how to use it."

"No, I do," the girl assured him with laughter in her voice. "It just doesn't do anything." She hesitated for a moment, looking once again into his eyes. This time he forced himself to watch her watching him, and he got the distinct impression that his eyes were comforting her in some way. She spoke again, but softly this time. Almost timidly. "I feel safe having it. It was my mother's."

_Was her mother's..._ Cloud realized her mother must have passed on. He felt sorry for her, but then without warning she was all smiles again.

"I just realized something," she told him, her eyes shining. "We don't know each other yet. I'm Aeris Gainsborough."

"I'm Cloud Strife," he replied automatically. But then he started when he realized what he had just done. Given his name to a stranger without any hesitation at all. As if he found it natural to share such things with others. He frowned. That had never happened before... What was it about this girl that compelled him to do something like that?

Aeris gazed at him for a moment, tilting her head sideways while she smiled. He seemed so sweet... and his eyes were exactly like Zack's had been. As Cloud wondered about her ability to bring him peace and warmth, she wondered at how much she wanted to be with him, just because he had eyes like Zack's. On a lesser scale, he even looked slightly like Zack, except Zack had had black hair and Cloud's hair was blonde. But even still... Being with him reminded her of Zack. And she didn't want to lose that feeling so soon... No she didn't want to lose that feeling at all.

"So," she said conversationally. "You know what I do. I'm a flower girl. How about you?"

He started. "What? Me?" _Oh let's see... I'm a mercenary, recently hired to take part in terrorist activities..._ Cloud shook his head. "Oh. I do a little bit of everything."

Her smile broadened. "Really? That must be exciting. Getting to do something different every day."

Cloud shrugged. "I just do what's needed..." He would have said more, but the girl had started to laugh... quietly, maybe, but it was still a laugh. Cloud frowned. "What? What are you laughing at?"

She had been right, she thought to herself. He was really sweet. Kind of cute, too, in a boyish way. "I'm sorry... It's nothing."

Out of the corner of Cloud's eye, he thought he saw movement. He turned his head to look, but all he saw was an empty street through the threshold of the church – for the door leading outside and back into the city was not there on its hinges.

When he looked back at Aeris, he saw that she, too, was looking towards the church's exit. When she glanced back at him, her face was still jovial, but in a much more solemn way.

"Wait here a minute," she suggested, as she gracefully rose to her feet. "I'll see what that was." Cloud remained sitting where he was in the flower bed as Aeris walked towards the door. She moved in a way he had never seen in any other common girl. It was more than graceful... It was regal. Like she were a princess or some such thing.

When Aeris reached the church threshold, she remained safely inside the sanctuary as she peered outside. The street was abandoned as it normally was. Very few people lived in this part of the sector slums. And those who did never seemed to be home during the afternoon.

But in the shadows of another building across the street, she saw movement once again. She thought she could make out the figure, and though who it was didn't surprise her, nevertheless, she caught her breath.

Turning around, she stepped to the side a little bit and leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes. How would she get out of this this time? They never tried this sort of thing the same way twice, and Aeris wasn't sure what to expect. She needed to think of a way to get back home, and safely.

Aeris slowly opened her eyes and suddenly found herself looking back at Cloud, who was gazing at her curiously. And then an idea formed inside her mind.

_No,_ she thought to herself. _I shouldn't get him involved in this..._ But then she saw his eyes again... They were Zack's eyes. And he would have _always_ taken care of her. Besides, Cloud seemed like a perfectly capable man who she could trust. And she still wasn't ready to let go of that feeling he reminded her of quite yet.

She walked back to him. "Hey. Have you ever thought of being a bodyguard?" When he just blinked at her, she continued. "I mean... you said you did a little bit of everything, right?"

Cloud opened his mouth, but no sound came out at first. What did she need a bodyguard for? The thought just sounded so unusual. She didn't look like someone with enemies. "What for?"

"I just..." she paused and cocked her head sideways. "You know... It's a long way home, and I don't want to walk there alone. There're these guys who sometimes harass me, and... I'll go out with you some time if you do."

"Okay," Cloud said before he had fully heard her last sentence. Of course if there were men about who harassed her, he would see that she got home safely. Any person with any sense of decency would do that. But then Cloud fully realized what she had attempted to bribe him with, and suddenly his face flushed a deep red. And Aeris was laughing at him.

"Thank you," she said through her laughter. "I really appreciate this."

As Cloud rose to his feet, still feeling slightly dizzy from his fall, but otherwise back to his normal self, his eyes suddenly caught sight of something that flashed silver with the light reflecting off of it at that angle. Frowning, Cloud walked over towards it, and realized that it was his Buster Sword. It had landed in the flower bed with him! He could hardly believe his luck.

Cloud bent down and picked it up, and Aeris watched him do so. When her eyes caught sight of the sword, they widened in surprise. _That's exactly like Zack's old sword!_ But as Cloud sheathed it in its proper place on his back, she didn't say anything. This was starting to get extremely weird...

Suddenly, a couple of men walked into the church. Aeris and Cloud both spun around in surprise as they took in at least four strangers. One man was a tall, lanky man with bright red hair and pale skin. He wore a business suit, but he wore it extremely casually, as a gambler might. And though he also wore sunglasses over his eyes, Cloud could tell he was looking at Aeris.

The other men who had entered were dressed in the uniforms of ShinRa's soldiers. And though they were armed, their weapons were not held at ready as they, too, looked intently at Aeris. She was slowly backing away from them, until she was standing beside Cloud. Realizing these were the men she must have been talking about, Cloud stepped slightly in front of her.

"Well," the red head said, taking his glasses off coolly and placing them up against his forehead as he glanced over at Cloud. "What have we here?"

"Hey," Cloud said coldly. "I don't know who you are, but I think you should leave..."

"Really?" the man asked in contempt. He glanced over at the girl behind the mercenary. "Got yourself a guard, now, Aeris?"

"Want us to take him out, Reno?" one soldier asked from his left. Reno's gaze didn't turn away from Cloud and Aeris.

"Haven't decided yet," he replied, his voice smooth and thick like honey. Before Cloud could respond, Aeris popped out from behind him.

"Wait a minute, Reno," she cut in. "You guys can't fight in the church! You'll ruin the flowers!" To Cloud's surprise, Reno looked into Aeris's eyes and actually nodded! She turned towards Cloud. "There's another way out back here!"

Confused more than anything else, Cloud found that he couldn't deny her any more than Reno seemed able to. So when Aeris turned and raced towards the other side of the church, Cloud followed her.

Reno frowned as he watched Cloud retreat with Aeris. "That guy had Mako eyes..." But as the two got a decent head start, he turned towards the soldiers at his disposal. "All right! Back to work, back to work! Just don't step on any of the flowers!" With that said, Reno proceeded after Cloud and Aeris, inadvertently stepping on some himself. The soldiers glanced at each other with smirks as he realized his own mistake.

"You ruined them, Reno," one soldier told the man with a grin.

"You're gonna catch holy hell," another one added. Reno just stared at them angrily.

"Enough!" he shouted, pointing after Aeris. "The Ancient is getting away! So get after her!"

By that time, Aeris and Cloud had reached a far wall where some of the rocks had fallen away, leaving a huge hole in a chunk of the wall's place. Cloud easily jumped up onto the frame such holes created, then turned back to offer Aeris a hand up. But just as she was about to take it, a gun fired, startling her. She stumbled backwards, letting out a short cry.

"Hey!" Cloud shouted at the man who had fired the gun at the exact same time Reno shouted the same thing. The man glanced at Reno sheepishly.

Cloud jumped back down into the church and made towards the ShinRa soldiers. They all could tell he meant business, and Reno consequently held up his own hand gun, aiming it directly at the mercenary.

"Cloud!" Aeris shouted in concern, but the mercenary kept walking forward, unalarmed. Reno scowled, and fired his gun, but Cloud gracefully moved out of the way, and the bullet fired past him harmlessly.

Reno's mouth dropped open. His men all rushed to his side and each one aimed a gun at Cloud. But as there were only four of them, Cloud was still not too concerned. He paused for a moment, studying them and their positions.

"Yeah, that's right!" Reno taunted. "You think you're so good, being able to move past one bullet? Try several! You might as well not even bother fighting against a Turk!"

Cloud glanced at Reno, surprised, but not allowing that surprise to be visible on his face. "You're with the Turks?"

"Got that right, pal," Reno said arrogantly. "So don't mess with me!"

Cloud smirked. "Gotta do better than that. I was with SOLDIER for awhile there." He wasn't one to brag, but the Turks pretty much irritated everyone, and he didn't want to deal with any of their crap.

Reno's eyes widened in surprised alarm. He turned towards his men. "Shoot him!" The three soldiers immediately obeyed. But as the bullets flew towards him, Cloud vaulted high into the air, doing several somersaults as he soared through the sky.

And as he came back down onto the ground, he drew the Buster Sword once again. Aeris instantly noticed how easily he wielded it.

"Cloud wait!" she shouted in alarm. "Don't kill them!"

Reno glanced at her for a moment before turning back towards Cloud. The mercenary hadn't seemed to have heard her, but as he knocked Reno's three soldiers all off their feet practically in one graceful swoop, he did not do anything that would seriously harm them. Reno held up his gun again, but even as he fired, Cloud was gone. And the Turk had no reason to doubt that this man had been in SOLDIER.

Cloud was at his side. Reno didn't have any time to defend himself before he too found himself sprawled out on the church's floor.

Cloud sheathed his sword and turned towards the girl. "Aeris! This way!" He led her away from the hole in the wall and towards the front door. She ran after him, and once she had caught up with him, she took his hand in hers. And though Cloud didn't object and didn't slow down any, he glanced at their joined hands in surprise. He hadn't held a girl's hand in as long as he could remember. Not even Tifa's, really. It felt nice. It felt warm and alive, and that feeling transferred into Cloud. He didn't ever want to let go of her hand.

Even after they successfully managed to break out of the church, they kept running down the empty street until it turned onto another one that was more publicly occupied. Only then did they slow down to catch their breaths.

Aeris suddenly started giggling. She looked up at Cloud as if the entire situation didn't bother her. "They were looking for me again."

Cloud glanced sideways at her, still more confused than anything else. "So this wasn't the first time they've been after you?"

Aeris shook her head. "No."

"They were the Turks," Cloud told her, his confusion increasing rapidly. "That's an organization in ShinRa Inc. They scout for possible candidates for SOLDIER." He couldn't begin to imagine what the Turks saw in a girl like Aeris.

"Really?" Aeris asked. "Violently, huh? I didn't realize members in SOLDIER were taken against their will."

"They're not," Cloud said as a disturbing revelation shot through his mind. "But then... Sometimes they do get involved with the dirty, on-the-side, kind of stuff. Spying... murder... you know..." He had never thought that kidnapping could be one of their chores. But even if it was, he still didn't see what ShinRa Inc. would want with Aeris. He asked her about it.

Aeris turned her bright eyes up towards his. She smiled playfully. "I don't know. Maybe they think I'm so fit to be in SOLDIER, they just can't take no for an answer!"

Cloud stared at her skeptically. He wasn't stupid. He knew she was perfectly aware of why they were after her... she just didn't want to share that information with him. But there was something about her that made him not even care that she wasn't being entirely honest. The way she spoke to him... he knew she was just letting him know she wasn't comfortable telling him her secrets in an innocent way that wouldn't necessarily hurt his feelings. And the last thing Cloud wanted to do was make her uncomfortable.

He smiled sadly before playing along. "Maybe you are. Do you wanna join?"

Aeris shrugged, but her expression was thankful. "I might. But I don't want _those_ people catching me. I'm really grateful, Cloud. Grateful that you're protecting me." And she was. With each passing moment, he reminded her more and more of Zack. But at the same time, she could see that he wasn't Zack. He was his own individual person with a few traits she recognized from an old friend. And with each passing moment, she was growing to like that individual inside of Cloud more and more as well.

"Come on, let's go," Cloud said, suddenly bolting away from her. Aeris cried out in surprise, and raced after him. But he was moving too fast... She found she was falling farther and farther behind him... and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep up.

"Hey!" she shouted after him. "Wait for me! Slow down!" He heard her cries from where he was so far ahead of her and he stopped immediately. As he turned and walked back towards her, she slowed and caught her breath, looking at him with a pout. "Don't leave me!"

He was smirking at her in a teasing way. "I'm sorry. But it's funny. I thought you were fit to be in SOLDIER."

Her mouth dropped open as she realized the joke was on her this time! She couldn't believe it, and she actually started to laugh quietly. "You're terrible, Cloud!"

He smiled at her with more warmth than he had ever felt before... or at least remembered ever feeling. She looked up into his eyes again, and realized exactly how handsome he was when he looked happy. But then, as she stared into his eyes, she saw their glow, and pictured Zack once again. Uncomfortable, she forced herself to look away. Suddenly, she didn't want to picture Zack in his eyes anymore. As much as she cared for her lost friend, she suddenly didn't want to interchange him with her new friend. She was beginning to like Cloud so much that she just wanted to picture him as he was and not as he first appeared to her. She wanted to know _Cloud Strife._ Not _Cloud who reminds me of Zack._

"Tell me," she said softly, looking back up at him. "Were you really a part of SOLDIER?"

Cloud nodded. "I was once. A long time ago. What gave it away?" He expected her to say his fighting, so her response surprised him.

"Your eyes," she explained. "The way they glow."

Cloud frowned. "Yeah. That's the sign of those who have been infused with Mako energy. It's... a mark of SOLDIER..." He was confused again. "How'd you know that?"

She smiled delicately... And then shrugged. Before he could ask any more, she pranced past him. "My home's not far from here. Follow me!"


	6. Don Corneo

**Chapter Five: Don Corneo**

Aeris's home was a small two story house that looked comfortable even from the outside. And coming from a city like Midgar... that said a lot about her and her family. When Cloud followed Aeris inside, he found himself standing in a small hallway that opened up into a relatively moderate sized kitchen. In that kitchen, a grown woman was at work cooking something that smelled delicious to Cloud.

"I'm home, mom!" Aeris shouted, which surprised Cloud, because he had assumed Aeris's mother had died. He didn't ask about it, though... He didn't want to look like an idiot in front of her.

Cloud followed Aeris into the kitchen. The woman, Aeris's mother, had turned around to greet her daughter, but was now staring at Cloud suspiciously.

Aeris noticed, and was quick to break the ice. "This is Cloud. He's agreed to be my bodyguard." She gave her mother a large, innocent smile.

It didn't work.

"Bodyguard!" her mother proclaimed in shock. She took a frantic step towards her daughter. "You mean you were followed again?" She then dropped her cooking tools on the counter and hastened to inspect her daughter very closely. "Are you all right? You're not hurt, are you?"

Aeris, her face flushed, pushed away from her mom. "I'm all right! Honest! I had Cloud with me."

The woman glanced at Cloud with an incredibly grateful expression on her face. "Thank you! My name is Elmyra. Of course you're welcome to stay for supper."

"Oh," Cloud glanced almost sheepishly from Elmyra to Aeris. "Actually... I really need to get back to sector seven. Um, I need to get to the Seventh Heaven. It's a bar there. I need to let Tifa know I'm all right." He actually felt extremely guilty that he hadn't headed back to the bar before then. Tifa was probably worried sick about him... Like he was worried sick about her... He didn't know if Barret had gotten her away from the Reactor before it had exploded. If anything had happened to her... Cloud didn't want to lose another friend.

Aeris glanced at Cloud sideways. "Who's Tifa?"

"She's a friend of mine," Cloud told Aeris, hoping all the while that she was okay. That she hadn't been hurt.

"She?" Aeris asked teasingly. "Is she a girlfriend?"

Cloud practically jumped at that question. He stared at Aeris, completely taken aback. "What?"

"Do you really, really like her?" Aeris asked playfully. But on the inside, she hoped Cloud wouldn't say yes.

But he was shrugging. "I don't know..." Actually, the question made him extremely uncomfortable, and his face felt slightly warmer than it had before. "I've never really thought about that..."

"Aw," Aeris continued to tease him. "I bet you have. You're just embarrassed." She smiled in content. "But it's nice..."

"Sector seven isn't that far of a walk," Elmyra told the mercenary. "But I feel like I owe you something for helping Aeris. Please. Stay the night, and you can go tomorrow."

Before Cloud could object, Aeris perked up. "Tomorrow, I'll show you the way there!"

Cloud's mouth practically fell open. "No way!" He shook his head in disbelief. "You gotta be kidding! I can't believe you'd actually _want_ to go outside with those Turks after you! Why put yourself in danger again?"

He really _was_ sweet, Aeris thought. "Oh, don't worry about me. I'm used to it." Cloud's mouth practically fell open.

"Used to it?"

Aeris nodded, and he glanced away from her. She could tell he felt sympathy for her. No one should be used to getting in danger.

He looked back at her and shook his head. "I don't know, Aeris. Getting help from a girl..."

He was teasing again. Aeris stared at him in absolute shock. Where'd he get off being a bodyguard at one moment and then a clown at the next? Little did she know, he was wondering the exact same thing himself. Teasing... Playing... It was so out of character for him. He had never behaved this way around anyone else... He couldn't begin to imagine what it was about her that brought this side of him out for her to see.

"A girl?" she glared at him, feigning resent. "What do you mean by that? Do you expect me to just sit by and listen, let you go off by yourself tomorrow morning, after hearing you say something like that?"

Elmyra stared at her daughter for a moment, then sighed and shook her head. Cloud was gazing at Aeris with a small smile on his lips. _Well, _he thought to himself. _If she comes with me tomorrow, at least it'll give us more time to be together..._

OOOOOOO

That night, Cloud was allowed to sleep in a tiny guest room upstairs. The bed he had been placed on was both soft and warm. He felt safe under its covers. And as he fell asleep, he dreamt...

_"...Seem pretty tired..."_

_It was that voice... Cloud had heard it before. He couldn't think of from where. He glanced around in surprise, but couldn't see anything more than darkness._

_"I haven't slept in a bed like this... in a long time."_

_Cloud had to agree with that. The voice kept whispering to him. "Ever since that time..."_

_Suddenly Cloud was in his own room again. Miles from Midgar... In his hometown. The wonderful village in which he had grown up. He walked downstairs and found himself in a familiar house that he had been raised in. His mother, as she was cooking breakfast in the kitchen, paused and glanced back at Cloud with a smile._

_"My how you've grown," she told him pleasantly. But her voice was echoing... He didn't remember it echoing when he had spoken with her before. "I bet the girls never leave you alone..."_

_Cloud shook his head. "Not really." He was surprised to hear that his voice echoed as well. That was weird._

_"I'm worried about you," his mother told him. "There are a lot of temptations in the city. I'd feel a lot better if you'd just settle down and have a nice girlfriend."_

_"I'm all right," Cloud assured her. But she didn't seem to be listening._

_"You should have an older girlfriend. One that'll take care of you. I think that would be the perfect type for you."_

_Cloud shook his head again. "I'm not interested." Suddenly, the room darkened and faded, and Cloud was left alone in the shadows..._

Cloud's eyes snapped open. He took in his surroundings in surprise, feeling completely lost and out of place. But then... he remembered everything that had happened the day before.

He quietly slipped out of bed, dressed, and slipped his Buster Sword, which was in its sheath, onto its place on his back. He couldn't risk putting Aeris in danger again. He'd just have to sneak out of the house and hope her mother could protect her from now on. But as he stealthily left the guest room and walked down the stairs, making for the front door, Aeris suddenly appeared in the hallway from the kitchen. She glanced at him in amusement.

"You're up bright and early."

Cloud's mouth fell open in surprise. She was practically laughing at him! He shook his head and set his mouth in determination. "I'm sorry, Aeris. I can't ask you to come with me. It's going to be dangerous!"

Aeris turned towards him and placed her hands on her hips. "Are you done?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. I've said what I needed to say, and that's final. No more objecting."

"Good," Aeris said, nodding her head determinedly, as she purposefully mistook his meaning. "Since there aren't going to be any more objections, then the two of us can head out right now." She turned towards the front door and walked outside.

Once again, Cloud's mouth fell open in surprise. He bolted after her. "Aeris! Wait!"

OOOOOOO

In the end, there was absolutely nothing even an ex-SOLDIER could do to stop Aeris when she had set her mind on something. In some things, Cloud was beginning to realize, she was even worse than Tifa was!

As they walked towards the sector in which Tifa and Barret lived, Cloud and Aeris talked about many things... though mostly it was Aeris doing all the talking. She appeared to like speaking, and Cloud found that he really liked listening to her. Throughout most of the walk, he was actually glad that Aeris's willpower had proven stronger than his. It let them be together... and he truly enjoyed her company.

Time moved quickly with her there, Cloud realized. He remembered that as a child, when he had been enjoying himself, time had seemed to pass by quicker than it did when he wasn't... He had forgotten that... But as they approached sector seven, memories of such a thing came flying back to him. It was too soon! He didn't want to part company with Aeris just yet!

"Hey, look!" Aeris was suddenly pointing to her left. Cloud glanced over to follow her finger, and saw that her attention had been caught by a playground. She let out a soft laugh and ran towards it.

"Aeris!" Cloud shouted after her in concern. When she didn't stop running, he hurried after her. They came to a halt only once they were in the midst of the tiny children's park. Aeris held her arms out and spun around, her long braided hair twirling through the air. She turned and looked at Cloud, who was watching her admiringly. Her face was alight with joy, and her smile was enchanting.

"I didn't want to say goodbye to you quite yet," she explained, knowing how close they were to the sector.

Cloud nodded. "Are you gonna be okay walking back home alone?"

"Oh no!" Aeris shouted out, covering her mouth with her hands, though her eyes were sparkling. "What ever will I do?" Her hands fell down to her sides, and she gazed at Cloud in ease. "Is that what you want me to say?"

But then Aeris thought of Tifa. She didn't know this other girl... she didn't even know what this other girl looked like. She liked Cloud. She liked him a lot. She wouldn't mind spending more time with him. But then... would that really be fair?

She turned and walked over to a slide. She sat down on it and looked up at Cloud as he walked over to join her. He sat on the ground... a metallic floor to a children's playground. It just didn't seem right. When he had been a child... playgrounds had been built on sand or grass.

Aeris glanced at Cloud solemnly. "I could be the helpless damsel for you, Cloud. But wouldn't that get in your way?"

He glanced at her with a frown. "What do you mean?" He shook his head. "In my way? In my way of what?"

She smiled and looked down at her hands, which were resting in her lap. "Never mind." They sat in silence for a moment, and then Aeris looked over at him curiously. "What rank were you?"

Cloud looked at her, uncomprehending "Rank?"

"You know," Aeris shrugged. "In SOLDIER." Cloud looked away from her, thinking about the question when something in his mind's eye flashed a brilliant white.

"First Class," he said automatically after the flash faded and his vision returned to normal.

Aeris nodded and looked away again, thoughtfully. "Just the same as him." Cloud glanced at her in curiosity.

"Who?"

"My first boyfriend," Aeris finally got the nerve up to mention Zack... The man Cloud had inadvertently reminded her of.

Cloud stared at her, wondering why it felt like he had been slapped. "You were... serious?"

Aeris immediately shook her head, though Cloud could tell that that wasn't entirely true. She looked at him with a soft sigh. "But I liked him for awhile."

"I probably knew him," Cloud told her, though feeling reluctant to ask. "What was his name?"

Aeris wanted to tell him... but then... her nerve left her. She wasn't ready to talk about Zack with anyone else. Not yet. She looked down. "It doesn't really matter."

Before Cloud could ask anything more, an unusually colorful truck drove past the playground and towards the sector ahead of them. Cloud and Aeris both looked after it, and were able to see least three young women sitting in the back of that truck... one of whom, Cloud immediately recognized.

He jumped to his feet in surprise. "Tifa!"

Aeris frowned and stood up, looking after the truck in confusion. "Wait... You saw her in that truck?" Cloud nodded, his face wrinkled in confused concern. Aeris glanced at him, just as baffled. "What's she doing in a truck like that?"

Cloud had no idea. He bolted towards the sector, and Aeris followed close behind. For her sake, he didn't sprint at his full speed, but nevertheless, he was certain he was pushing her limits. By the time they found the truck parked on a certain street not too far into the sector, Aeris was gasping for breath.

The girls who had been in the back of the truck were no longer there. Though Cloud glanced in every direction, he couldn't see where they had gone to. But he _did_ recognize the street, and that _did_ concern him.

He glanced at Aeris in alarm. "I should go alone. You should go home."

But Aeris wasn't as naïve as she might have appeared. She took in her surroundings rather calmly, and nodded at Cloud. "Yeah. This place is kind of scary in many ways for girls." The street itself was called Wall Market, and it was pretty nefarious in Midgar. Nevertheless, Aeris didn't look like she was going anywhere. "We have to find Tifa fast!"

Cloud felt frustration build up inside of him. "Aeris!"

"What?" she looked at him innocently. "Come on, Cloud. You might need help! And besides, if I stick with you, who better to make sure I don't get in trouble." Cloud glared at her, but she suddenly saw something behind him. "Look! That truck's driver is returning!"

Cloud spun around, and both he and Aeris ran towards the truck and the man who was opening its side door.

"Hey!" Cloud shouted, getting the driver's attention. He glanced towards the mercenary and the girl in surprise. Cloud wasted no time in intimidating the man. "Where'd the girls from your truck go?" His voice was loud and threatening, and the driver was apparently not that brave.

"Don Corneo's!" he quickly replied, his voice franticly alarmed. Cloud nodded his thanks and reached for Aeris's hand. The two hurried together down the street. And as Cloud went, his relief that Tifa was still alive from the Reactor crisis quickly faded as a new horror grew inside of him.

They soon came to a corner, where a large mansion had been built across the street. Cloud and Aeris paused to stare up at it. The mercenary felt his heart quiver slightly at the thought of Tifa being trapped inside.

"Is that the Don's mansion?" Aeris asked, her voice sounding thin. She glanced at Cloud with a brave face. "All right, I'm ready. I'll take a look around, and when I find Tifa, I'll tell her you're waiting for her."

"Are you crazy?" Cloud turned towards her, thinking that she was even more insane than Barret was. "You _do_ know what kind of... place... that is?"

"I think everyone in Midgar knows what kind of place Don Corneo's mansion is," Aeris told him gently. "Do you wanna come in with me?"

"That'd be kind of hard," Cloud acknowledged. "I mean, for a man and everything. But busting in would cause a _lot_ of commotion..." He shook his head. "There's no way I'm letting you go in there alone, Aeris."

Suddenly, she laughed out loud. Cloud looked down at her in surprise. What did she have to be _laughing_ about _this_ time?

She looked at him with glittering, playful eyes. "Cloud. I have the _perfect_ idea!"

Cloud cocked his head at her in interest... But after that, he would make it a point to remember to _avoid_ Aeris's 'perfect ideas' at all costs.

OOOOOOO

"Cloud," Aeris whispered as they walked boldly towards the Don's mansion. "You should walk more nicely..."

Cloud glanced over towards her with a hard, disgusted glare that she could not see. For he was wearing a pink veil that covered his entire face and head. And over his normal clothes, Aeris had dressed him in a red gown. Though he still wore his Buster Sword sheathed to his back – Aeris had told him its presence would make him look more appealing to a man looking for a challenge – he had never felt more humiliated in his life.

"What's wrong with the way I'm walking?" he demanded miserably. She glanced him with a smile he did not find, at that particular moment, the least bit innocent.

"It's not as gracefully delicate as it should be," Aeris said, trying not to laugh out right. Cloud ignored her as they walked into the mansion. He hoped Tifa would be _extremely_ grateful for all the trouble he was going through for her.

They found themselves standing in a large, dazzling front hall. There were women all around, and very few men, and almost immediately Cloud could sense Aeris slipping closer to him, her body tense. He silently promised that, despite everything she was putting him through, he'd make sure nothing would happen to her.

One of the few men walked over to the pair, his eyes focused on Aeris. "Why hello, ladies! Welcome to the mansion! Please follow me." Cloud and Aeris glanced at each other, and though Aeris could not see Cloud's face past his veil, she could tell when he nodded. They followed the man as he led them into another room, up a large staircase, through another hall, and into a large bedroom. There was a giant bed up against the wall, and the whole room spoke of luxury and extravagance. Cloud thought he was going to be sick...

The man looked from Cloud to Aeris. "I'll let the Don know there are two new girls here. I'm sure he'll be up presently. Make yourselves comfortable, but don't leave the room." With that, the man turned and left them alone.

Cloud immediately tore the veil off his face and struggled out of the dress. He was shaking his head and muttering under his breath. "Like we're gonna follow _that_ rule... This is so insane... Stupid girls with stupid ideas..."

Aeris was quietly chuckling as she watched him in amusement. "Admit it, Cloud. It was exciting down there... Wondering if they'd catch us or not."

"They still might," Cloud shot back at her, strapping his sword's sheath once again into its proper place. "We are _never_ doing that again!"

"Sure thing," Aeris agreed. "Now come on! Let's go find Tifa."

But before they could, the door suddenly opened. Cloud spun around in alarm, stepping instinctively in front of Aeris as he reached for his sword, only to catch himself in time as the woman they had originally been looking for had apparently just found them!

Tifa's face lit up into a huge smile when she saw Cloud. She bolted towards her lifelong friend and wrapped her arms around him as she reached him. Caught of guard, all Cloud could do was stand there awkwardly as Tifa clung to him as if he were all that kept her in the world.

After a moment, she pulled away from him. "Cloud! You had me so worried! I thought for sure you had died!" There were tears in her eyes, and Cloud felt his heart clench.

"I had _you_ worried?" he asked her in disbelief. "You told me yourself that the Materia worked! And what about you? What are you doing here?"

"Well," Tifa said as she wiped her tears from her eyes. "I saw you sitting with that girl in the playground, and I was just so happy that you weren't hurt! But I still just wanted to talk to you! So when I saw her enter the mansion, I thought I'd find her and ask her where you were! Didn't even occur to me it could've been you under that veil! But when that guy brought you up here, I followed, and waited until I could get in here!"

"No, Tifa!" Cloud interrupted. "I mean... what are you doing _here_?" He gestured impatiently at the mansion itself.

"I-" Tifa glanced at Aeris with a small frown. "I'm sorry... Who are you? How do you know Cloud?"

"Oh," Aeris stepped forward and smiled at the other woman. "I'm Aeris Gainsborough. Cloud's told me a lot about you... Tifa?" When Tifa nodded, Aeris continued. "He practically landed on me when he fell out of the sky. But he's all right though."

"Hey!" Cloud interrupted harshly. He was glaring at Tifa. "Why are you ignoring my question?"

"But I'm not," Tifa told him, glancing pointedly at Aeris. The girl immediately took the hint and nodded.

"I'll just be over here," Aeris told them, walking over to sit on the window seat by a large window through which she looked out over Wall Market. She covered her ears with her hands and started to sing softly to herself. She had a lovely voice, Cloud noticed, before he looked back at Tifa.

She was staring at him with large, wide eyes filled with relief. "I'm so glad you're okay." Her voice was in a soft whisper.

"Thanks," Cloud whispered back. "Tifa... What happened?"

"Barret managed to get me away from the Reactor safely," Tifa told him. "But when we got back to the Seventh Heaven, there was this weird man waiting for him outside. Barret went off and talked to him for some time in his apartment downstairs. And I admit, I did eavesdrop. But all I heard was Don Corneo's name. When the man left and Barret came upstairs, I asked him about it... You know... to get my mind off of what might have happened to you. But Barret seemed so angry and he wouldn't tell me about it. Told me to leave it alone. It really bothered me..."

"So you decided to come here and ask Corneo what's up?" Cloud asked. "To get the story straight from his mouth?" Tifa nodded.

"Can I come back yet?" Aeris asked, glancing over at them with an expression of boredom on her face. Tifa and Cloud looked at her, and she took that as a 'yes', for she jumped up from her seat and walked over to them. "I just... have to ask if there's anything I can do to help. I mean, I know you're both planning something big, and I don't want you to accidentally-on-purpose leave me out."

"No, Aeris," Cloud shook his head firmly. "I can't have you getting involved in this!"

Aeris huffed and crossed her arms, much like a little child. "Oh? So it's all right for Tifa to be in danger?"

"Of course not!" Cloud objected. "But that's different. Tifa's really good at fighting. She can take care of herself better than you can."

"So," Aeris shot back. "That's why we had to come running up here to save her from big scary Don Corneo, right?"

"Oh?" Tifa asked with a smile forming on her face as she looked up at Cloud in amusement. "Is that what you were doing?"

"What?" Cloud glanced between the two young women helplessly as they smiled at each other. He sighed in defeat and rolled his eyes.

"But he has a point," Tifa said after a moment, looking over at Aeris. "Are you sure you'll be able to help?"

"Of course!" Aeris promised her. "I grew up in the slums! I'm used to danger! You can trust me."

Tifa nodded her head agreeably. "Okay. I can trust you, miss Aeris."

Aeris waved her hand at that. "You don't have to be so formal. I'm just Aeris." Tifa nodded in acknowledgement.

Before Cloud could argue any farther, the door suddenly opened once again. The three of them all turned around as a moderately sized man entered the room. He was practically dancing as he threw the door shut, completely oblivious to everything around him that didn't take part in whatever perverted fantasies he might have been having at that moment. Cloud immediately knew it was Don Corneo.

"Patience, patience!" the man was chanting in a high pitched singsong voice that grated on Cloud's nerves. "There'll be time! Plenty of time!" His eyes suddenly took in Cloud, and his face automatically paled about five shades.

But Cloud wasn't the one he should have worried about. Tifa was suddenly in front of him, and she spun around, tossing her leg up as she went, powerfully kicking the man across his face and sending him spinning across the room. Tripping on his own feet, he went down, and landed heavily on the floor.

Tifa glared at Corneo in disgust. "I doubt _anyone_ will come investigate _that_ sound!" Corneo looked up at her from where he sat on the floor, his face whiter than the bed's sheets.

"Are you crazy?" he demanded indignantly. "What... what's going on? What do you want?"

"Answers!" Tifa shot back. "I know you were investigating Barret Wallace, and I know you had a man talk with him yesterday! How much do you know about Avalanche and what did you have to say to him?" Corneo only stared at her, but his expression turned from alarm to anger. But Tifa was even angrier. Moving with surprising speed and grace, she crossed over to him and lifted him from the ground only to send him careening into another wall. "No one's gonna investigate _that_ sound, either! We can keep this up all night! So you'd better talk! If you don't, I swear-"

Cloud cut in. "Ah, Tifa..."

She glanced at him and roughly dropped Corneo onto the floor, backing away. Cloud approached the man, who was in a heap on the floor, and drew his sword. Corneo glared at the mercenary with an expression of pure hate.

"If you don't talk," Cloud threatened the man, holding the blade slightly towards the Don. "I'll chop it off."

Corneo's anger suddenly transformed back into horror. "All right, all right! I'll talk! Just put that thing away!"

Cloud nodded and sheathed his sword. When he glanced at Tifa, she had her arms crossed and was shaking her head in disgust. She stepped towards Corneo again.

"Listen," Corneo began. "I ordered my man to find out where the man with the gun-arm lived. But that was only because I was ordered to!"

"By who?" Tifa demanded.

Corneo looked back in forth between Tifa and Cloud. "I... if I tell you that, I'll be killed!"

Tifa rolled her eyes. "If you don't talk-"

"I'll rip it off!" Aeris cut in, happy to contribute in some small way. Corneo stared at her as if she were out of her mind.

"By General Heidegger!" he shouted. "A couple days ago, Heidegger told me there was a terrorist group in Midgar that went by the name of Avalanche! I had to find out who led it and where they lived! Heidegger wanted to use that information to crush the entire rebellion!"

"Heidegger...?" Tifa frowned at Cloud. "But doesn't he think we're already dead?"

"It looks like you're working behind schedule," Cloud told Corneo. "Avalanche died in that explosion yesterday."

Corneo shook his head. "Apparently you didn't."

"But yesterday you sent a man to the Seventh Heaven," Tifa insisted. "That man spoke with Barret and freaked the guy out! What did he say?"

"I didn't send anyone to speak with Barret!" Corneo shouted at them. "But if someone did, then I'd imagine that person had betrayed ShinRa and was siding with Avalanche! Probably told your boss what ShinRa's planning on doing!"

"And what's that?" Cloud demanded. Corneo hesitated, and Tifa took a threatening step towards him. He squealed, curling into a ball and protecting his lower half with his arms.

"ShinRa's planning on crushing Avalanche!" he shouted. "Literally! By breaking the support that holds the plate above Barret's sector!"

"What?" Tifa drew back, her face suddenly pale. "Break the support?"

Corneo stared up at her with a cruel smile. "You know what's going to happen? The plate'll go 'ping' and everything'll go 'bam'! Everyone living in sector seven will be killed! Crushed by the rubble of a plate above them!"

"ShinRa wouldn't do that..." Aeris whispered in disbelief. "They wouldn't go that far... would they?"

"Probably," Cloud replied. "Even if they do think Avalanche has been destroyed already, the rest of Midgar doesn't know that. So if ShinRa destroys a part of the city, and blames it on Avalanche, the rest of the people here will just sympathize with the corporation. They'll make Avalanche out to be the bad guys, stage some other method of destroying us, and come out as the heroes."

Corneo grinned. "You're pretty smart, kid."

Tifa turned towards Cloud, frantically. "We've got to stop them! Please, Cloud! I need your help!" She remembered how reluctant he had been to help with the bombing the day before. She figured this would probably seem even more unnecessary to the mercenary. But Cloud was nodding.

"Of course, Tifa," he assured her in a calm, focused voice. "But we have to move quickly."

"I'm coming too!" Aeris told him. "If they're gonna try destroying an entire sector... I can't just sit back and not do anything to help!"

"We don't have time for this!" Tifa exclaimed, trying not to panic. "We have to do something now!" With that said, she raced out of the room. Aeris turned and followed her, and Cloud only spared Corneo one last disgusted look before he too left the chamber.


	7. A Massacre

**Chapter Six: A Massacre**

ShinRa Inc. was, in fact, the most important corporation in the entire city of Midgar. Thus, it owned countless buildings throughout the city, and on each plate. But it was on the highest plate, the eighth one, that ShinRa was headquartered. And the office building there was huge... undeniably the largest skyscraper in the city.

It was there that President Shinra made his tactics and policies, and presently it was in one of the upper level offices there in which he was meeting with his closest advisors. One of whom was a certain head of the Urban Development Department. A man named Reeve.

"Mr. President," he was declaring unhappily. "Are we really going to do this? Simply destroy a group with only a few members...?"

"What's the problem, Reeve?" Shinra demanded, glancing over at the man calmly. "You want out?"

"No," Reeve said automatically. "But as the head of UDD, I have been a major figure in the building and running of Midgar. To purposefully destroy a piece of what I have come to consider my personal work..."

Heidegger glanced at the other man with a cruel smirk. "Reeve! You should flush your personal problems in the morning!" Reeve glared at the General. Very few people liked him, and the head of UDD was not one of them.

He crossed his arms unhappily. "The Mayor's against this anyway." It was a weak sounding argument to all of them, and Heidegger let out a loud laugh at that.

"The Mayor?" he demanded with a grin. "Right. He just sits in this building all day feeding his face! You still call that a Mayor? And since when does the _Mayor_ have more of a say than ShinRa?" Heidegger got off his butt and turned towards the office door. "Now if you'll excuse me..." He glanced at Shinra and nodded. "Sir!" And then he left the office.

Reeve was immediately on his feet running after him, but then he stopped and let out a halfhearted sigh. Sometimes he hated his job... ShinRa... all of it.

"You're tired," Shinra suddenly observed from where he sat at the conference table. Reeve glanced back at the president in surprise, and Shinra nodded at him in false comfort. "Why don't you take a couple days off and go somewhere? Starting tomorrow?"

Reeve stared at the president in alarm. When the president impulsively offered an employee a vacation that wasn't scheduled, than it was probably because he was displeased... Reeve knew better than to question that request. He knew bad things happened to employees in this business, and he wasn't above placating his boss. "Yes sir." He turned and walked out of the office.

A smile formed on Shinra's lips. Tonight was going to be a memorable one. They were going to destroy sector seven and report that Avalanche was responsible. Then they would send in a rescue operation, care of ShinRa Inc. Things could hardly have been more perfect...

OOOOOOO

"We have to get to the Pillar Station!" Cloud shouted as he led Tifa and Aeris through the sector streets. "It's in the Train Graveyard! The Pillar is one of the strongest support beams over sector seven! If ShinRa were to destroy that one pillar, than the gravitational force on the plate above would be so strong that a piece of the plate would break apart from the rest of it and come crashing down! The damage to the plate above would be minimal, but it would still be severe enough to get ShinRa what it wants!"

"We can't let this happen!" Tifa told herself for the hundredth time. "We can't let this happen! We can't let this happen!" The three of them ran as quickly as they could towards the Train Graveyard.

OOOOOOO

The Train Graveyard was possibly the worst of the slums. It was wet, it was filled with junk... it was practically the garbage dump. The air was more polluted there, and even with the bright fluorescent lights that lit the entire area, it just seemed darker and filled with more shadows.

The Pillar Station was in a corner of it. It was really just a large tower built beside much larger pillar that supported a piece of the city. The tower was not a building. It just held up a large platform at its summit, and the only way onto the platform was by way of a ladder. The computer controlling the pillar was positioned on that platform. And it was to that pillar that Barret and the rest of Avalanche were headed.

A couple helicopters were patrolling the sky overhead. Barret looked up at some of them and raised his machine gunned arm. He open fired.

OOOOOOO

"Aeris!" Cloud glanced over at her as they ran. "I'm sorry I got you involved in this!"

"Don't tell me to go home," Aeris told him before stopping to catch her breath. Cloud paused as well, as did Tifa, and they both turned to wait for her. She noticed that neither one of them had been winded by the sprint. _That's not fair,_ she thought unhappily as she glanced at Tifa. "Can you keep up with him when he runs at his full speed?"

Tifa nodded frantically, not wanting to waste any time, but too polite to tell Aeris that she was slowing them down.

"All right," Aeris said cheerfully. "Then you two go ahead. I'll see if I can get as many people to evacuate sector seven as possible!"

"No," Cloud glanced at her sharply. "If ShinRa realizes the sector is evacuating, they'll just speed up their own efforts! We'd lose even more time! I hate to say it, Aeris, but we either succeed here or we don't. There is no compromise!"

"But, Cloud!" Tifa took a step towards Aeris, staring at her urgently. "Surely it would be okay to evacuate one person!" She took another step towards Aeris. "Please! Go to the Seventh Heaven! It's my bar! Anyone could tell you where it is! There's a little girl named Marlene who lives there! Please get her as far away from here as you possibly can!"

Aeris glanced at Tifa and smiled with a bright, enthusiastic nod. "Don't worry, Tifa! I'll take her someplace safe!" With that, Aeris spun on her heel and began running towards sector seven.

Tifa glanced at Cloud. "Let's go!" The mercenary nodded. They turned back towards the graveyard and ran at a dead sprint, no longer holding back for anyone.

OOOOOOO

"We have to get to the platform!" Barret shouted towards his three companions. They each held guns of their own and were firing at the helicopters from various places near the station where they could take cover from returning fire.

"There's no way!" Biggs objected, looking up at the platform in horror. "There's no shelter up there! We'd be shot down!"

"They won't shoot at the platform!" Jessie shouted back, her knowledge of the city coming in very useful. "The bomb they've set on the pillar isn't strong enough to destroy enough of the structure by itself! But there's Mako energy even flowing through the support beams! That energy's combustible, as we all pretty well know! But if the computer goes, the systems that allow Mako energy into the pillar will shut down! Without that energy, the explosion won't be strong enough to destroy the pillar! ShinRa won't risk that! They won't shoot at the computer! It's the best shelter you can get in this entire city!"

"I'm there!" Biggs shouted, jumping from his place of cover and racing towards the ladder leading up to the platform. But in his haste, he had failed to notice one of the helicopters was coming back towards them.

"Biggs, get down!" Barret shouted in horror. But he wasn't quick enough. Bullets came raining down on Biggs, and he was hit.

"NO!" Jessie screamed, making to run towards her friend. Barret was immediately behind her. He grabbed her waist and pulled her back down under cover. Tears were streaming down her face as she fought him, but he didn't let go.

"Jessie!" he shouted at her. "Now is _not_ the time to get yourself killed too!" He tried keeping the pain he suddenly felt wrenching through his body out of his voice.

Suddenly the helicopters turned and flew away from the station. Barret and Jessie both looked up in surprise as their enemies retreated. After a few moments, they could no longer even hear the spinning blades that kept the copters hovering in the sky. They had actually left.

"Let me go!" Jessie finally was able to push away from Barret. She sprinted towards Biggs. Thinking that they were in the all clear, Wedge jumped from his hiding spot and ran towards his comrade as well. Barret, however, couldn't... He fell heavily to the ground, knowing there was no time for this, but unable to move as tears welled up in his eyes. The pressure of the situation was finally beginning to overwhelm him...

"Biggs!" Jessie screamed, falling to the ground at his side. Wedge was there as well, and they both took in the sight of their bleeding friend.

"Hey, guys," Biggs turned to look up at them. His face was pale and wet... and his voice was weak. There was blood everywhere. "What 'cha waiting for? Get this thing done!"

Jessie shook her head and wrapped her arms around the dying man. "You can't... We can't do this without you, Biggs!"

Something was pounding on the ground behind them. Wedge turned his head and saw dozens of ShinRa soldiers running towards them.

"Barret!" Wedge shouted. He glanced at the girl. "Jessie! Get under cover!" With that, Wedge turned and ran towards the tower's ladder.

Barret got to his knees and looked out from his hiding place. He saw them coming. His tears were swallowed as urgency took over again.

Wedge had made it to the ladder. He was beginning to climb up when half a dozen other soldiers came running from another direction. Wedge spun to face them in surprise, but was unable to move quickly enough to avoid another shower of bullets, these ones directed straight at him.

Jessie was on her feet and running towards her other friend. She fired her own gun at the ShinRa soldiers who had killed Wedge. And before they returned fire, she was pleased to see that some of them had fallen to the ground because of her.

"Jessie!" Barret shouted in horror as he watched the massacre before him. "NO!"

OOOOOOO

"We're almost there!" Cloud assured Tifa as they arrived outside the Train Graveyard. But he could immediately tell that they were not the first ones...

"Is that gunfire?" Tifa asked in horror, the sight of the still standing pillar no longer a relief to her.

"Come on!" Cloud shouted, drawing his Buster Sword. They raced into the graveyard and found dozens of bodies of ShinRa soldiers lying dead on the ground. But an equal number were still alive, and those soldiers turned around to greet Cloud and Tifa. They raised their guns.

Letting his SOLDIER training take over, Cloud met those guns head on, moving so quickly that it was impossible for any of his enemies to aim their weapons accurately at him. When they fired, they sooner ended up shooting their own comrades before even getting close to hitting Cloud. He moved faster than their eyes and arms even could.

Tifa was also fast enough to make it extremely difficult for the soldiers to lock their weapons onto her. And her movements were never in a pattern. She never ended up where they might have expected her to. Her punches were like lightning... When she jumped, spun, and kicked, she was like nothing they had ever encountered before. She had grace and fluidity that no one could match.

Cloud's eyes suddenly landed on a body lying not far from where he was cutting down one of the last remaining soldiers. He felt his heart skip a beat, and he raced towards the man, who lay at the base of the tower's ladder.

"Wedge!" Cloud fell to the ground beside the man, turning him over gently and staring into his still open, still living eyes. "You all right...?" It was a stupid question. One that Cloud didn't know why he had asked.

Wedge's eyes were starting to glaze over, but he managed to smile up at Cloud. "Hey... You remembered my name..." Wedge let a small laugh tear through his blood soaked lips. "Barret... got up top... Help him..."

Tifa, meanwhile, saw Jessie. She let out a choked cry as she ran towards her friend. "Jessie!" She fell to the ground at the girl's side.

"Tifa..." Jessie looked up at the other woman weakly. "That is... Cloud...? He survived...?"

"Yes he did," Tifa whispered past her tears as she held the woman in her lap.

"He's... so... cool..." Jessie whispered, looking towards him, but not seeing him. "Composed... Ex-SOLDIER... I really liked him..."

"Yeah," Tifa nodded. "He's all right..." She looked over and saw Cloud sitting with a dying Wedge. Her tears poured down her cheeks with more intensity. "What about Biggs?"

"Dead..."

"What about Barret...?"

"He's... on... the platform..." Jessie told her. Tifa looked up, but could not see anything going on atop the tower. Jessie caught her arm. "Tifa..." The woman looked down and saw Jessie's eyes were no longer seeing. "Save... planet... Don't let ShinRa win!" With that, Jessie breathed her last.

"I won't forget you," Tifa whispered before pushing herself to her feet and sprinting towards Cloud and Wedge.

Wedge was getting closer to his end. But he was still able to speak. "So... you don't... care what happens... to the planet...?"

Cloud stared at Wedge in horror. How could the man be thinking about the planet at a time like this? At a time when he was about to die? "No! Not right now I don't!"

Wedge let out another choked laugh. "God. You haven't changed..." And then his body relaxed, and he did not breathe again. Cloud stared down at him, surprising himself by feeling tears form in his eyes. Had he really not changed? Maybe Wedge was wrong. Maybe he had...

"Cloud!" Tifa was suddenly shooting past him and reaching for the ladder. She paused long enough to look down at him. "Come on!"

Cloud nodded and stood up, sheathing the Buster Sword. He started climbing up the ladder behind Tifa. When they reached the platform on top, they found Barret frantically working the controls of a large box of a computer panel.

"Barret," Cloud calmly let the other man know they were there. The black man spun around to see both Cloud and Tifa standing only a few feet away from him. And as usual, he was looking extremely upset.

"You're alive," he observed, his large body shaking slightly. "But you're late."

"Maybe I'm not too late to save the sector," Cloud offered.

"Jessie said something about shutting the computer down," Barret gestured to the box behind him. "But I figured that... before destroying it I could see if there was any ways of completely draining the Mako energy outta the pillar... As a precaution... But I don' know how the damn thing works!"

Cloud stepped past Barret and stared at the computer panel. He didn't recognize anything on it... "I don't know. Maybe it would be best to just destroy the thing..."

"Something's coming!" Tifa shouted, but they had all heard it. Another helicopter was approaching. Cloud and Barret both turned from where they stood on the platform, high off the ground, with no visible shelter other than the hopes that no one would open fire at the computer, as a new helicopter flew towards them.

The copter hovered above them as its side door opened. A man glanced out to stare at them. The man was tall and thin, dressed nicely in a business suit. He had dark skin, narrow, almond shaped eyes, and professionally cut, long black hair. Cloud recognized him immediately... His name was Tseng, and he was the leader of the Turks...

"I wouldn't try anything further, if I were you!" he shouted down at Cloud, Barret, and Tifa. "The bomb's been set! It'll blow in a few moments, but it'll blow immediately if you so much as flip a switch on that computer! The Mako energy won't have time to dissipate!"

"Please!" Tifa shouted, taking several desperate steps forward. "Stop it!"

Tseng glanced at her with a cruel smile, but did not answer her plea.

"Damn it!" Barret shouted, raising his arm up to fire at Tseng. But the Turk held up another cautionary finger.

"I wouldn't do that either," he warned the black man. "You just might injure our special guest." With that said, Tseng reached back into the copter and pulled to his side a young woman Cloud and Tifa immediately recognized.

"Aeris!" Tifa shouted in horror. She found she couldn't properly breathe anymore. "What do you want with Aeris?"

Tseng glanced at Tifa sideways. "You two know each other?" He shrugged with another smile. "How nice. You should thank me for allowing you to see her one last time."

"What are you gonna do with her?" Cloud demanded, knowing that the Turks had been looking for Aeris but still unsure as to why.

"It's been awhile since the president ordered us to capture the last remaining Ancient," Tseng told Cloud haughtily. "At last I'll be able to report this!" However, the Turk left Cloud's question unanswered.

Aeris, though her face was pale, nevertheless leaned out towards her friends. "Tifa! Don't worry! She's all right!"

"Aeris are you crazy!" Tseng shouted, pulling the girl back into the helicopter. "You'll fall!" He shoved her back inside and to relative safety.

"Aeris!" Tifa screamed, rushing forward as if she hoped she could fly out to the girl. Cloud caught her round her waist and held her back before she could fall herself.

"Well!" Tseng looked back at them maliciously. "I do believe it's time for this show to get on the road!" With that, the Turk shut the door to the helicopter and it turned, flying away from the Pillar Station, and carrying Aeris with it.

Tifa spun around in Cloud's arms. "What are we going to do?" She looked frantically from Cloud to Barret and back to Cloud again.

Cloud looked around. The pillar was going to go in any moment. They only thing they could do was get as far away from the sector as they possibly could.

"Let's get down," he suggested, running towards the ladder. When the three were on the ground again, Cloud took Tifa's hand in his. That surprised the girl, for he never held hands with anyone. But before she could ask him about it, he started running towards the actual pillar. She went with him, and Barret followed close behind.

They past the pillar and kept going. Tifa had no idea what Cloud had in mind, but followed without question. She trusted him... If anyone could get them out of there, it was the SOLDIER...

Without warning Cloud stopped, released Tifa's hand, and fell to his knees. She stopped and looked down, as Barret did. They found that Cloud was lifting a circular metal case out of the ground. It had been covering a hole... a hole that led down into the sewers. Cloud looked up at Tifa expectantly, and the woman nodded. She shot down into the darkness. Barret followed.

Cloud reached towards his belt and grabbed the yellow Materia. It instantly shined with a brilliant light. He dove into the sewers after Tifa and Barret.

OOOOOOO

High up in his office building, President Shinra was listening to classical music. It was on an extremely high volume, but even still, Shinra heard the explosion. It came from far away... not even on the same plate that he was on at that moment. The sound of more destruction followed. Shinra thought such sounds blended well with the music he was listening to... Enjoying the moment, he poured himself a small glass of champagne.

OOOOOOO

As Cloud helped Tifa out of the sewers in the next sector over, chaos was in large supply. Hundreds of people were in the streets, screaming in horror, crying, just running in every direction. They were all in tremendous panic.

Tifa didn't even have to look to know what had happened. A large portion of the plate above had collapsed, crushing sector seven. From where they were in sector six, they were safe from harm now... But Tifa had not felt such pain in five years.

She fell to the ground, sobbing. Cloud knelt down beside her and she threw her arms around him, weeping as she clutched him tightly. And as he held her to him, trying to offer her what little comfort he could, more anger swept through him than he had ever thought it possible to feel. This was why he hated ShinRa. They destroyed everything in their path, leaving in their wake ruin and anguish. That was why the prospect of a dying planet did not surprise him, either. Why should the planet not be dying as well, when ShinRa was trying to kill everything else...?

Barret stood in shock, staring at the plate that was crushing sector seven. His face was abnormally pale. He shook his head. "...Marlene..." Tears poured down his face as rage built inside him. He grabbed the sewer's casing off the ground and threw it savagely. "Biggs! Wedge! Jessie! Now Marlene! Damn it!" He shouted in anguish. "What the hell's it all for? Why do we live like this?" He ran towards the plate that was crushing the sector that had been his home and began to fire his machine gun at it. People around him shrieked and scattered.

"Marlene..." Tifa stared after Barret and suddenly pushed to her feet. She ran after him. Cloud followed.

"Damn it!" Barret was screaming as he continued to pointlessly fire at the plate. "I hate this!" He screamed.

"Barret!" Tifa called to him, grabbing his arm, trying to get his attention. Barret savagely threw her away from him, and she would have fallen if Cloud hadn't been there to catch her.

"Barret, listen to us!" Cloud demanded angrily. The man paused at that, and spun around to face the mercenary.

"Tell me why!" Barret shouted in all his anguish. "What is there left to listen to? This is all there is!"

"No it isn't!" Tifa screamed back. "Marlene is alive!"

"That's not funny," Barret told Tifa, though his eyes were suddenly fixed on her in renewed hope. "What do you mean, she's alive?"

"I think..." Tifa hesitated, but then nodded. "When that man took Aeris in his helicopter, she told me that, 'she's all right!' She had to have been talking about Marlene!"

Barret wiped his eyes. "R... Really?" Cloud and Tifa both nodded and Barret turned away. "Damn it! Biggs!" His body shook violently. "Wedge and Jessie! They didn't..." He fell to his knees. "This is all so screwed up! They killed an entire village just to get to us!"

Tifa glanced at the plate. She thought she could hear the screams of the dying. She knew she could hear the screams of the living. It was too much to bear. "It's all our fault..."

Barret was on his feet again. He spun around towards the girl. "No Tifa! That ain't it! Hell no!" He walked over to her and grabbed her shoulders. He gently spun her around so that she could look up into his eyes. "It's not us! It's the damn ShinRa! It's never been nobody _but_ the ShinRa! They're evil... and destroying _our_ planet just to build their power and line their damn pockets with gold! Do you understand?"

"I don't know..." Tifa looked away, tears pouring down her cheeks. "I just... I can't believe there would be anyone anywhere capable of this... It hurts so much..."

"I know it does!" Barret told her. "I feel it too! That's why we fight it! Do you hear me? That's why we _keep_ fighting it! It ain't over till we get rid of them! They've killed so many... and they're trying to kill the planet, and we ain't gonna just sit back and let them!"

"But they..." Tifa was trembling. "We can't... Because of us, they just redouble their efforts... Barret, we can't win against them! They're too strong! They kill because we fight... How can we stop that?"

"We just do as much as we can, when we can," Cloud interrupted. Barret and Tifa both glanced at him in surprise, and he turned away from the plate. Though he didn't look back at her, he addressed Tifa. "Right now, the only thing we can do is figure out how to help Aeris. If we attempt that, I'm sure something else will then come to us. Are you coming?"

Tifa caught her breath and nodded. "I'll come. I'll go with you wherever." It was hard for her to breathe, but as Cloud made his way down a street filled to the brim with panic and chaos, Tifa was able to follow with Barret close behind.


	8. The Ancients

**Chapter Seven: The Ancients**

As Cloud led Tifa and Barret towards the sector in which Aeris lived, Barret was going over a lot of things in his mind. He turned and glanced at Tifa with a frown.

"So who exactly's Aeris?" he asked her. "What's up with her?"

"I don't really know," Tifa looked up at him, tears still visible in her eyes. "She's the one I trusted with Marlene."

"Marlene..." Barret worried about her more than he did about the planet. He looked over at Cloud. "Are you taking us to Marlene?"

Tifa frowned. "I thought we were looking for a way to help Aeris..."

Cloud nodded. "We are. But before that..." he hesitated for a moment, then went on. "There's something I want to know."

"What's that?" Tifa asked softly.

Cloud didn't look at her. He kept his gaze focused on the road ahead of him. "It's about the Ancients..." That's what Tseng had called her... He had heard that word mentioned before... In his memory.

_"In my veins courses the blood of the Ancients. I am one of the rightful heirs to the planet." Through the shadows of a darkened chamber, Sephiroth's face could barely be seen..._

Cloud halted as his head began to ache painfully. He blinked, trying to push the pain away. He couldn't deal with any headaches at that moment!

"Cloud?" Tifa looked up at him in concern. "Are you all right?" Cloud blinked again and glanced down at her.

Barret crossed his arms in disapproval. "Pull it together, man."

Cloud shot Barret an angry glare before starting forward again. They walked for some time before Cloud recognized Aeris's house. As soon as he saw it, he ran up to it and was about to knock on the door when it flew open. Aeris's mother, Elmyra, was staring at him in both alarm and relief.

"Cloud!" she exclaimed. "I'm so glad you're all right! Come inside!" She held the door open for him and he entered, with Tifa and Barret on his heels. She stared at the two strangers with a frown. "I'm sorry, I don't..."

"This is Tifa and Barret," Cloud told the woman as she shut the door behind them. Elmyra glanced at Tifa appraisingly. "They're friends. Here to help."

"So you're Tifa..." The woman went on to change the subject before Tifa could ask what was meant by that. "I have to ask that you be quiet. There's a little girl upstairs sleeping. Or at least trying to..."

Barret started at that, his eyes wide with hope. "Marlene! Marlene's here!"

"Yes," Elmyra nodded her head solemnly. "And I won't let you take her." Barret's eyes narrowed, but then he thought he understood.

"Oh, it's okay," he told the woman softly. "I'm her father..."

"Her father..." Elmyra nodded knowingly. "Then you ought to be ashamed for leaving her alone in a city like this! I ought to not let you take her even if you _are_ her father." Barret's mouth dropped open, but he couldn't say anything to that, as he was properly chastened.

"Wait," Cloud cut in, looking at Elmyra unhappily. He then changed the subject. "I came here partly to apologize. I couldn't protect your daughter."

"ShinRa took her," Elmyra glanced at Cloud with another nod. "I know. They took her from here. She wanted them to."

Cloud's eyes widened in surprise. "She _wanted_ them to?"

"Let me explain," Elmyra offered. "I'm sure you were wondering about it all anyway. Aeris is an Ancient. She's the sole survivor of a pretty much forgotten race."

"Sole survivor?" Barret asked with a frown. "But you're her mother... Shouldn't that make _you_ an Ancient, too?"

Elmyra shook her head. "I'm not her real mother. I adopted her... Oh, it must have been about fifteen years ago." Cloud nodded. He remembered having thought Aeris's mother had died. Elmyra continued on to explain what had happened. "A war had been raging and my husband had been sent to the front. To a place called Wutai. I remember it well. I had been so happy because I had received a letter from him saying that he was coming home. I went to the train station and waited. I must have waited all day. He didn't come...

"Time past, as it always must. I had not heard word from my husband. I was sad and lonely, but not without hope. I thought for sure his leave had just been canceled. That he would one day return to me. One day, as I past by the station, hoping that by some miracle he would be there, I saw a woman lying in the gutter, close to death. It wasn't an uncommon sight, but there was a small child on the ground beside her, and the child seemed to be unhurt. I felt compelled to see what I could do to help her, and her mother rolled around to look at me. She asked me to take Aeris someplace safe.

"As you can see, I agreed. I accepted responsibility for the girl, and took her to my home, thinking that maybe I wouldn't be so lonely anymore. Aeris and I quickly grew very close. She helped me... find reason to live without my husband. And I did whatever I could to protect her. Aeris eventually told me things... such as how she and her mother had escaped out of a research laboratory, and how her mother had returned to the planet and wasn't lonely anymore..."

Barret looked confused. "Returned to the planet?" He shook his head, wondering what that meant. Elmyra nodded knowingly.

"I didn't understand either," she assured him. "I asked if she meant some kind of star in the sky, but she insisted she meant _this_ planet. She was a pretty mysterious child in many ways.

"One night," Elmyra continued. "When Aeris was young, I found her in her room on the floor. She was crying. I asked her what was wrong, and she gazed up at me with such love and sorrow. 'Someone dear to you has just died,' she told me. 'His spirit was coming to see you, but he already returned to the planet...' At first I didn't believe her. But several days later we received notice that my husband had died. And that's how it was."

"I'm so sorry," Tifa said, softly. Elmyra nodded, and Tifa had to look away. There was so much death in the world... For awhile, Tifa missed the whole point of what Elmyra had told them. She couldn't help but think about the countless lives that had been lost that night. But Cloud... he had understood Elmyra's story. Aeris had known the husband had died. How could she have known that?

"A lot had happened," Elmyra said. "But after awhile, the pain lessened, and Aeris and I found happiness together. But then something happened that changed all that..." Elmyra could still remember it clearly. And as she related the event to her guests, she could picture it in her mind.

_It had been a cold morning during the winter. Aeris had been playing on the kitchen floor with several dolls as Elmyra answered the front door. Several men, she discovered, were waiting outside for her. One man introduced himself as Tseng, and he had pushed his way inside the house without an invitation._

_He immediately recognized Aeris when he saw her playing in the kitchen. "Ah. So it is true. She is here."_

_Aeris had looked up at that voice and had taken in the sight of Tseng. She let out a squeal and scurried away from him. Elmyra immediately rushed into the kitchen, pushing her way past Tseng so that she was in-between the man and her daughter._

_"We want you to return Aeris to us," Tseng told Elmyra after a moment. "We've been searching for her for a very long time."_

_Aeris had just been a little girl at the time. The thought frightened her. "No! Don't!" She scurried over to a corner and curled into a terrified ball on the floor._

_"I think you had better leave," Elmyra told the Turk, crossing her arms in front of her. "There's no reason for you to hurt a child."_

_"We don't want to hurt her," Tseng assured the woman. "Aeris is a very special child of special blood. Her real mother was an Ancient. And the Ancients are the ones who will lead us to a land of supreme happiness. Your daughter will be able to bring happiness to everyone living in the slums. I promise you that will happen if you cooperate with ShinRa."_

_"No!" Aeris shook her head frantically. "He's wrong! I'm not an Ancient! I'm not!" Tseng glanced at the girl in mild amusement._

_"But Aeris," he objected, patronizingly. "Surely you hear voices sometimes when you're all alone."_

_"No!" Aeris shrieked. Elmyra had never in her life seen her so upset. "I don't! I don't!"_

Elmyra sighed and stared dejectedly at her guests. "But I knew then. She had mysterious powers, but she tried so hard to hide them. I knew she wanted to forget about them, so I acted like I didn't notice."

"It's amazing," Cloud observed quietly. "That she's managed to avoid ShinRa for all these years..."

"The ShinRa need her for something," Elmyra explained. "So they couldn't do anything to harm her. And Tseng... He's the one who's responsible for bringing Aeris to the ShinRa... I guess she had some kind of effect on him. The same kind of effect she has on everyone. Tseng grew really fond of her. They all were really fond of her. Most attempts they made to catch her were only halfhearted."

"So what changed?" Barret demanded. "Why did that Tseng guy take her tonight?"

"He seemed worried that something bad was going to happen in the city," Elmyra said. "And something did... I guess he knew about it before hand..."

Tifa had to look away as tears formed in her eyes again. She kept picturing that plate... lying on top of an entire sector! The people who had lived there dead...

"He didn't want whatever was going to happen to hurt Aeris," Elmyra continued. "So he was finally determined to bring her in with him. When he first saw Aeris tonight, she was heading home with a little girl. He chased after them. Aeris barely managed to get inside the house with the child. And to keep the child safe from him, Aeris agreed to surrender. She wanted him to take her. There was nothing I could do."

"Wait a minute!" Barret cut in, shocked. He took several steps backwards. "Are you telling me this Aeris girl gave up her freedom to protect _my_ Marlene?"

"She said she had promised to keep her safe," Elmyra told Barret sadly. "That the girl was important and should be protected."

"I'm so sorry!" Barret was practically in tears. He rushed forward to take Elmyra's hand. "Your daughter's ShinRa's prisoner now because she was protecting _my_ daughter! This is my fault! I should have been there!" He turned away from Elmyra and began pacing back in forth as if he were out of his mind. "I can't stop thinking about Marlene! Every second of every day I just wanna be with her! I love her to death and it kills me when I'm fighting! But I gotta fight! Cause if I don't, the planet's gonna die! I just wanna be with her and I find myself going in circles!" He was walking in circles now, and Elmyra strode over to him and stopped him.

"It's okay," she assured him. "I understand. I do. Go up and see her. Tell her how much you love her." Barret nodded and bolted towards the stairwell. In a small house like this one, it wouldn't be hard at all for him to find his own adopted daughter.

While Barret was upstairs, Elmyra offered Cloud and Tifa a place to sit. But Tifa shook her head.

"I can't sit down," she told the woman in a soft, fragile voice. "I just..." Suddenly she threw her arms up in despair and began pacing around the room. She didn't say anything, just covered her mouth with her hands. Cloud knew how she felt. She felt responsible.

"Tifa," he told her gently.

She spun around to look at him. Tears were falling down her face again. "Cloud, no matter what I said earlier, I have to come with you! I have to fight! When you go after Aeris, I want to come with you!" Her voice was trembling, and Cloud wasn't sure she realized what she was saying exactly.

"I'm going to breaking into ShinRa Headquarters," he told her in a steady voice that he hoped would calm her. "This isn't going to be like breaking into a Reactor complex. This is going to be extremely dangerous. You need to be prepared for the worst, and you need to be strong."

Tifa caught her breath, and wiped her tears from her eyes. "I will be. I promise. But I have to do something to help. If I just sit here I think I'll go mad."

"Okay," Cloud nodded in agreement. But the fact was, he didn't want to leave her alone where he wouldn't be there to protect her. If ShinRa could do what they did to sector seven, they could do anything and there was no safe place in Midgar.

At that moment, Barret came walking down the stairs. For once, he seemed calm and in control of himself. For once he seemed sane.

He glanced miserably at Cloud. "She was sleeping. And I couldn't wake her. I just... didn't know what on earth I could possibly say to her." His lower lip trembled slightly. "I feel like I owe Aeris for saving Marlene. I'm going to help you rescue her."

"Good," Cloud agreed. He would probably need Barret's help. More than Tifa's anyway.

Barret turned to Elmyra. "I hate to ask... But could you carry out that threat? Could you keep Marlene from me?"

Elmyra smiled softly. "I won't give her back to you until you come back with my daughter. But you have to come back, do you understand? Don't leave Marlene without a father."

Barret nodded. "I promise I won't." _Marlene has already been left without a father. I won't let that happen to her again._

"You might want to consider leaving Midgar," Cloud told Elmyra. "It's dangerous here now. Take Marlene as soon as we leave and go somewhere else. Leave the city."

Elmyra nodded, but there was fear in her eyes. "But how will you find us? After all of this...?"

"I'll find you," Cloud assured the woman. "I know how to find people." Elmyra nodded.

"As soon as you leave," she promised. "I'll take Marlene away from here."

"All right then," Cloud glanced at Tifa and Barret. "We're going to get Aeris. We're going to bring her home."


	9. ShinRa Headquarters

**Chapter Eight: ShinRa Headquarters**

Night was falling on the city of Midgar as Cloud led Tifa and Barret through the backstreets of the sector. They were mostly abandoned. As the citizens tried to overcome such a terrible tragedy, very few were out in the dark and dirty alleyways.

"How are we going to get there?" Tifa asked as they went. "Isn't ShinRa headquartered on the top plate? But that one plate crushing sector seven... its in our way. There's no way up there."

"We climb up the side of the plate that fell," Cloud told her in a matter of fact voice. "Then make our way up the sides of the support structures."

"Damn," Barret breathed. "Who needs roads and trains when you can just climb up the side?"

"Won't someone see us?" Tifa asked, sounding slightly apprehensive at the prospect of what they were about to do.

"That's doubtful," Cloud shook his head. "Who's gonna be looking? It's the last thing ShinRa's expecting, and no one else down here is gonna give a damn."

They found themselves suddenly walking straight towards sector seven, though no part of the town could be seen underneath the giant piece of plate that lay sprawled over it. Tifa tensed as they approached it.

Cloud glanced at her in concern. "Are you gonna be okay?" She looked away and nodded. Wanting nothing more than to have the ability to bring her comfort, Cloud reached out and gently took her hand. She turned back to him in surprise, but said nothing as he brought her hand up and gently placed a small gray sphere against it.

"Let the Materia protect you," he told her softly. She stared down at it and recognized it as the same one she had used on the train, and had given to Cloud to save his life when he had fallen... Suddenly her heart _did_ feel lighter, and she managed a small smile.

"Thank you..."

Cloud glanced at Barret. "You still got yours?" He nodded, and walked over to the plate. The surface of its side was rough and jagged, as Cloud knew it would be, since it had broken apart from the rest of the plate above it. There were plenty of footholds to grab on the climb up.

Tifa tied the Materia to her belt and went first. She started up with speed and ease as if she had been born to climb... though in fact, she had. Cloud remembered the town in which they had grown up in. There had been a mountain there. A mountain on which Tifa and Cloud, though few others, had spent much time scaling and climbing. Though Tifa had fallen, once...

Cloud tried not to think about her falling as he watched her climb up. The point was, she was as skilled as anyone could hope to be at climbing. This came easily for her.

Cloud glanced at Barret. "Are you gonna make it with only one arm?"

"Just go!" Barret ordered him roughly. "I'll come up behind ya. Just don' fall. I can climb with one arm, but won't be able to catch ya." Cloud nodded and followed Tifa up the side of the plate. Barret came up last.

Tifa was on her knees when Cloud reached the top of the plate after her. He could tell she was upset, and quickly looked to see what was wrong. But it was obvious. People had been living on the plate that had fallen on sector seven as well. And now their bodies could be seen in the streets as well, crushed by the impact of the fall. Several buildings had collapsed as well. Everything was a ruin, and death was all around.

"Just don't look," Cloud told Tifa quietly. She nodded and closed her tear filled eyes. Barret climbed up behind them.

"Damn it," he cursed softly when he saw the destruction. Sector seven had not been the only sector to be destroyed.

The three of them made their way across the top of the plate. Above them, they could see where it had broken off from the rest of the plate above. There still were some support beams that led up to that... and it was on those beams that Cloud, Tifa, and Barret climbed up next.

When they reached the top, they found that the sector on that plate was in as much panic as the sector below them had been in. People were out in the streets, many of them screaming in anguish as tears poured down their faces. Others comforted friends, and very few found the strength to stand, much less walk. Those who could did so in a daze, as if not believing they were even awake.

Tifa once again had to wipe tears from her eyes as she followed Cloud and Barret through the sector. It would be a long walk to the street that spiraled up the side of the city's central support beam and to the top plate. And on that walk, Tifa found herself wiping her eyes many, many times as memories and images painfully shot through her mind's sight. Everything was wrong. Nothing was the way it was supposed to be...

Even on the top plate, the three companions found that when they reached it the sky could still not be seen. There were too many tall buildings... too many bright lights... too much smog... Tifa could not make out the moon or the stars at all.

"When we find Aeris," Tifa said suddenly in a stubborn voice. "We should leave Midgar. I can't... I _have_ to see the sky again..."

"We will," Barret said, looking at her sympathetically. "Let's get Aeris."

OOOOOOO

ShinRa Headquarters was an incredibly sized building. It was the largest in the city... Over a hundred floors, it seemed. As Cloud, Barret, and Tifa approached it, it looked like a tower of death and despair.

Barret glanced at Cloud sideways. "Hey, you outta know this building well."

Cloud shook his head. "Not really. Now that I think about it, this is the first time I've ever been to the headquarters."

"I heard about this place before," Barret went on. "Every floor above the sixtieth is special and not easy to get to even for employees. Must be where they have Aeris."

"The security will be pretty light right now," Cloud noted. "With everyone out trying to help sort through the mess."

"We're gonna bust in, headfirst," Barret suggested. Cloud didn't seem to react to that suggestion, but Tifa was horrified.

"Are you out of your mind?" she demanded in alarm. "We'd get caught!" She turned to Cloud. "There must be a back way in or something!"

"Doesn't matter if there is one or not!" Barret shot back. "For crying out loud, they put friggin' cameras in their ventilator systems! They'll know about us as soon as we walk inside the place!"

"Barret's right," Cloud admitted. "Busting in would be the last thing they'd ever expect. We make a big scene, and they'll be caught off guard and so unorganized we'd probably be able to find Aeris easier."

"Right," Barret nodded. "And I'm itching to kick ShinRa ass." He looked at Tifa. "I'm surprised you're not."

She stared at the two of them as if they were both insane, then rolled her eyes and tightened her hands into fists. She nodded. "Okay, but if we get killed, I'm going to be extremely pissed off."

Barret nodded, almost gleefully. "Stupid suckers! Not every member of Avalanche has been killed, and I'm gonna show 'em that no matter what they do, they can't beat us!" With that, he charged towards the building's main entrance.

"Let's go," Cloud nodded after Barret, and he and Tifa raced after him. As they barreled through the entrance, they found themselves in a huge lobby that was well lit by electric chandeliers and well furnished with expensive carpet, paintings, couches, chairs, and tables. But at that moment, there was no one in the lobby except for one woman at the Reception Desk.

"Hey!" she shrieked when she saw the three intruders. "You can't come in here like that!"

"Shu' up!" Barret shouted, holding up the machine gun he had for an arm. "I come as I want to! And if you don't wanna get your face smashed, you better not get in our way!"

The woman held up her hands in surrender, and didn't say anything further as Barret, Cloud, and Tifa ran past her and towards the elevators. Once she realized she was safe, she let out a breath and shook her head.

"Avalanche, I guess," she spoke to herself, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Several bombings, the destruction of sector seven, and now the invasion of ShinRa Headquarters. Don't they ever sleep?" She rolled her eyes as she grabbed her purse. Forget this. Something bad was up, and she knew she didn't wanna hang around and wait to see what would happen. So she left the building without even sounding an alarm.

Cloud, Barret, and Tifa piled inside an elevator and waited as it took them up towards the higher levels of the building. Barret had a huge grin on his face.

"That was easy!" he told them cheerfully. "I knew you had nothing to worry about, Tifa!"

"No," she rolled her eyes. "It's not gonna be so easy when we wanna get back outside, Barret."

"Tifa's right," Cloud agreed. "It's gonna be real hard finding Aeris and getting her out of here without anyone else getting hurt."

Barret smirked. "I forgot," he looked at Cloud in wonder. "That you sometimes say things I'd never expect hearing from ya. You are able to fight for other people... Other than yourself, I mean. I'm impressed."

Cloud scowled. "I'm not trying to impress you, Barret. I couldn't care less about what you think of me."

"Right," Barret shifted his weight slightly. "Ya know... I ain't so good at saying things like this... but... I'm sorry, man. For lotsa things..." But before he could expand on that, the elevator jerked to a stop.

"What happened?" Tifa demanded, trying to keep her alarm from sounding in her voice.

"Cameras, probably," Cloud guessed. He glanced at the panel on the wall. "These elevators are fast. We're on the fifty-ninth floor already." He took in the size of the elevator and glanced at Tifa. "Be ready to fight as soon as that door opens." He hated putting her in the front, but there was no room for him to draw his Buster Sword in the space that was offered him. She nodded.

The door suddenly slid open and Tifa was immediately in the hall. As Cloud had predicted, there were several guards standing in front of the elevator with weapons ready, but Tifa flew out with a speed and ferocity that took all of them by surprise. She truly did remind Cloud of lightning as she violently took down several of the guards with just her fists and feet.

Barret was out behind her, and he quickly gunned down any of the soldiers that Tifa might have missed. Cloud came next, and the three of them ran towards the stairs. The sixtieth floor was next, and they began climbing and fighting the rest of the way.

Floor after floor they went, quickly, efficiently on Cloud and Tifa's part – there never was much efficiency where Barret was concerned, he just kind of destroyed everything in his path... until they came to the sixty-sixth floor. For on that floor, in one of the few seconds when there was no one around to see, Cloud caught sight of a room labeled for storage. Knowing Tifa and Barret might need a break, he led them over to it. They all scurried inside to hide for a moment while they caught their breaths.

In the darkness, Cloud listened to Barret huff rather loudly as he breathed. But the man didn't seem tired... he sounded exhilarated. "Man, I needed this!"

"Cloud," Tifa whispered, having moved to the far side of the storage closet. "I think there's something over here. I think I can hear something."

Cloud felt his way over to her. He then could hear something too. "Barret, quiet!" The man immediately tried to soften his breaths as he gasped for air. Cloud moved his hands along the wall until he found a way to lift up several tiny bars that were part of a small duct from which light came into the closet. Cloud and Tifa both knelt down to peer into the room through the duct.

The room that the duct connected the closet with was a large conference room. Inside, a meeting was being held with several people. Cloud could recognize some of them, and felt his body tense as he eavesdropped on their conversation.

"We have the damage estimates for sector seven," one man, Reeve, was saying, all the while looking forward to that vacation Shinra had told him to take, starting the following morning. "Considering the factories we've already set up and all the investments, the cost to rebuild sector seven-"

"We're not rebuilding," President Shinra calmly declared. Reeve took a double take on that one, and stared at the president in open shock.

"What?"

"We're leaving sector seven as it is," Shinra explained calmly. "And restarting the Neo-Midgar plan."

Reeve shook his head in confusion. "Then... the Ancients?"

Shinra nodded. "The Promised Land will soon be ours." He sounded very happy by that prospect. "I want to raise the Mako rates fifteen percent in every area."

Reeve's face paled. "But... If you raise the rates, the people will loose confidence."

Shinra disagreed. "It'll be all right. The ignorant citizens won't lose confidence. In fact, I think they'll be trusting ShinRa even more right now."

Heidegger was laughing. "After all, we did save the rest of the city from Avalanche!" Reeve glared at the general, and from their place in the closet on the other side of the wall, Barret was shaking in anger.

"Dirty asshole," the black man whispered softly. No one but Cloud and Tifa heard him.

Suddenly Shinra glanced at another man. A smaller, dark haired wimp of a man. "Hojo. How's the girl?"

The name caused Cloud to tense. There was a bright flash of light in his mind's eye, and images came pouring through. So many images... And voices...

_"How do you feel? Can you answer me?"_

_"I... feel tired..."_

A moment later those images and voices faded, and Cloud was back in the closet with Barret and Tifa. Dr. Hojo was speaking.

"As a specimen," he was saying. "She is inferior to her mother. I'm still in the process of comparing her to Infalna, but for now, the difference between the two is eighteen percent."

"How long will the research take?" Shinra demanded, and Dr. Hojo let out a sharp laugh.

"Probably a hundred and twenty years," he spat. "It'll probably be impossible to finish in our lifetime. Not to mention the lifetime of the specimen herself! That's why we want to think about breeding her. Then we could create one that could withstand our research for a longer time."

Cloud thought he was going to be sick at such a thought. Instinctively, he edged closer to Tifa, as if to protect her from such cruelty, even though she wasn't the 'specimen' in question.

Shinra was frowning. "What about the Promised Land? Won't it hinder our plans?"

"That's what I need to find out," Dr. Hojo replied. "The mother is strong... and yet she has her weaknesses."

Shinra nodded and turned to the rest of the people in the room. "This concludes our meeting." With that said, everyone at the table moved to stand up and leave the room. One such person, a woman, short and pencil thin with blonde hair and a focused face, paused and sniffed the air in the room. Her name was Scarlet, and she frowned. _Something stinks..._ With a shrug, she followed the rest of the men out of the room.

In the closet, Cloud turned towards Barret and Tifa. "They had to have been talking about Aeris, right?"

He could see Barret shrug. "Dunno."

Tifa nodded. "Probably."

"Let's go," Cloud suggested, and the three of them hurried out of the closet. They rounded several corners until they found the door that led into the room in which the conference had just been held. From there, Cloud caught sight of an escalator leading up to the sixty-seventh floor. The three of them made for it.

As they went up, Cloud thought about something. Dr. Hojo. He had seemed... so familiar somehow. "Hojo...?"

"Yeah," Barret was nodding his head. "I've heard about that Hojo guy. He's in charge of ShinRa's Science Department." Barret frowned. "Do you know him?"

"No," Cloud shook his head. "This is the first time I've ever actually seen him." _Wasn't it?_

As they came to the next floor, they heard voices coming through an open door down the hall. Cloud motioned for them to be quiet as he carefully walked towards it. They followed with equal caution. Cloud peered around the corner, into the room, and saw what looked to be a large laboratory. There was a tank placed up against one side of the room... a tank Cloud thought he recognized. A sick feeling grew in the pit of his stomach.

Dr. Hojo was standing in the room staring at a clipboard as he spoke with another man, who appeared to be an assistant. Neither one of them paid any attention at all to the large tank that occupied the room with them.

"Yes," Dr. Hojo was saying, not looking up from his clipboard. "We will start immediately. Raise it up to the next level." The assistant nodded, turned, and disappeared through another door on the far side of the room. A moment later, Dr. Hojo followed.

Cloud immediately ran towards the tank, with Tifa and Barret close behind him. When Cloud reached the side of the tank, he found that there was a small circular window on it through which he could see something moving inside. Something he _knew_ he recognized. He stumbled backwards in shocked disbelief.

"Jenova!"

The sick feeling in his stomach intensified, and Cloud suddenly thought he was going to throw up. His body shook violently.

"Cloud?" Tifa walked over to him in concern, and reached out to support him. Barret was immediately beside him as well. "Cloud, what's wrong?"

"That thing!" Cloud stared at the window on the tank. There was a creature inside of it... It was still alive! That was impossible! "Jenova... It's Sephiroth's... I can't believe they've brought it here..."

Barret was frowning. "The hell's Jenova?" Cloud didn't answer. He turned away from it, pressing his hands against his head as he began to sweat.

"This day couldn't get any worse..." he mumbled as memories raced through his mind so quickly he couldn't even begin to keep up with them. At some points, he wasn't even sure the memories belonged to him!

"Cloud!" Tifa sounded afraid. "Maybe we should just find Aeris... Forget about this thing and get outta here."

_Aeris._ When Cloud thought of her, he immediately found his body relaxing. If Mako energy... and Jenova... could make his body react in a harmful way, then it seemed like Aeris could make his body react in a calming way. He needed that right now. He needed to find her and be at her side again...

He glanced at Tifa and nodded. The three of them made their way to the far side of the room where the door was. They threw it open and boldly walked in.

They found themselves in another laboratory. Dr. Hojo and his assistant were both standing next to two large glass cylinders that extended from the floor to ceiling. Inside one cylinder was a strange creature Cloud had never seen before. Inside the other cylinder... was Aeris!

When she saw them, her eyes widened in amazement and in hope. "Cloud!"

Dr. Hojo and his assistant spun around in surprise. Hojo let out a sharp hiss. "Outsiders?"

"Should of noticed earlier, you..." Barret held up his arm, aiming the gun at Dr. Hojo. His assistant let out a fearful cry and practically fell over backwards as he scurried to get away from Barret.

Dr. Hojo held up his arms in alarm. "Are you going to kill me? I don't think you should! The equipment here is extremely delicate! Without me, who could operate it, hmm?" Barret did not fire his gun, but stared at Hojo as if the guy were completely insane.

Dr. Hojo nodded his head frantically as he sidestepped towards a large table on which a computer sat. "That's right! I recommend you think logically before you make any rash moves!" Suddenly, Hojo reached for the computer and pressed a button on it.

"Hey!" Barret shouted as glass shot up from the floor to the ceiling, creating a larger cylinder around both Aeris's prison and the prison of the other strange creature. A moment later, the glass prisons they were in swept down, and the creature was in the same prison as Aeris was.

The creature looked like a mixture between a wolf and a tiger. It had fierce red eyes and bright red fur. There were several dark patches on its coat that resembled scars, as if the creature had been in several violent fights in its lifetime. The tip of its tail was alight with a single flame, and on its lower back legs there were two bronze bracelets. Its tail flicking, it began to pace in a circle, staring at Aeris and then at Dr. Hojo, and then back at Aeris.

She scrambled away from it, letting out a frightened shriek. "Cloud! Help!"

"What do you think you're doing?" Cloud demanded in horror, looking back at Dr. Hojo. He took a terrified step forward, and Hojo backed away from him.

"Lending a hand to an endangered species!" Hojo squealed. "Both of them are on the brink of extinction! If I don't help, all these animals will disappear!"

"Animals!" Tifa stepped forward in alarmed disgust. "That's terrible! Aeris is a human being!"

"Get her out of there!" Cloud ordered Hojo, but the scientist was shaking his head. Barret scowled.

"Back up!" he shouted, aiming his gun at the glass cylinder. Hojo's face paled when he realized what Barret was about to do.

"Stop!"

Barret fired his machine gun. The glass shattered around them, and suddenly Aeris and the red beast were free. The beast immediately turned towards Hojo and let out a loud, fierce snarl.

"Cloud!" Aeris ran to the mercenary and flung her arms around him. "Thank you! Thank you!"

Cloud gently pushed her back. "We don't have time! We have to get outta here fast!" Aeris stared up at him and nodded.

The beast suddenly spun around and looked at Cloud. "Let me help you!" Cloud, Tifa, and Barret all stared at the creature in pure, open shock.

"It talked!" Tifa exclaimed. The beast flicked its tail, almost in amusement.

"I'll talk as much as you want later, miss," the creature told her in a soft, low voice that sounded strangely musical in its own, deep way. "But we can't stay here... Please... I don't want to stay here any more than your friend does..."

Cloud stared into the eyes of the creature and their gazes met and held for a moment. Neither looked away... They both recognized something in the other, and for that Cloud nodded.

"What's your name?"

"I have been called Red Thirteen," the creature told the mercenary. "The name holds absolutely no meaning for me, but it will do."

"Yeah," Barret bit his lip with a frown. "What exactly are ya?" Red Thirteen glanced over at the black man, his tail flicking all the while.

"That's an informed question... but difficult to answer." Red frowned. "Shouldn't we escape before getting into all that? I shall lead the way." Moving with extreme speed and grace, Red pranced past the small group and into the previous room. Barret rolled his eyes, but quickly followed. And Tifa was close behind him.

Cloud glanced down at Aeris and saw that she was looking up at him with bright eyes. "So you did come for me." Cloud nodded and led her into the last room, after Red, Barret, and Tifa. But as they piled into the room, they found themselves face to face with countless ShinRa soldiers who were waiting at the door...

Before Cloud could race forward to attack, one ShinRa soldier, who was none other than Tseng, stepped forward and tossed something into the room. He then stepped backwards and shut the door with him.

Cloud glanced over his shoulder and saw Dr. Hojo standing at the door of the room they had just left. He scowled and threw it shut as well, locking the group inside the room with whatever it was Tseng had tossed in.

Cloud looked down at it and realized it was some sort of bomb. Before he could react any further with that knowledge, it went off, releasing some kind of gas that had all of them choking in under five seconds. Dizzy, Cloud fell to his knees as his vision darkened. He looked frantically around the room, trying to find some way to escape.

His eyes caught sight of the tank that was in the room with them. He could clearly see the window on that tank, and inside of it... Jenova... He still couldn't believe it... Jenova... That was the last thing he could think of as he finally passed out on the floor.


	10. Sephiroth

**Chapter Nine: Sephiroth**

When Cloud awoke, he was sitting propped up on a chair in a large, windowless room with his arms bound behind his back. Immediately alert, he found that Tifa and Barret were in a similar position. Red Thirteen was not in a chair, but his feet were all in irons.

"Ah, you're awake," a cold voice greeted him. Cloud looked over to find its source and saw that none other than President Shinra was watching him in some amusement. "I have to admit, I'm rather impressed with your survival skills. I thought for sure you and your friends had died... I guess I underestimated you."

"Where's Aeris?" Cloud asked as Tifa, Red, and Barret slowly regained their senses as well. Barret swore loud and slowly as Tifa frantically looked around to find Cloud. She seemed greatly relieved when she saw that he was there.

"The girl is in a safe place," Shinra assured the mercenary, stepping towards them leisurely. "She the last surviving Ancient, don't you know? They called themselves the Cetra, and lived thousands of years ago. Now, they are just a forgotten page in history."

Red Thirteen seemed truly stunned. "That girl? She was a survivor of Cetra?"

Shinra nodded with a cruel smile on his aristocratic face. "Cetra, or the Ancients, will show us the way to the Promised Land. I'm expecting a lot out of her."

Red shook his head in disbelief. "The Promised Land? Isn't that just a legend?"

Shinra nodded again, pacing before his prisoners as if he were some sort of performer delivering a famous soliloquy before his audience. "Even so, it's just too appealing to not pursue. It's been said the Promised Land is very fertile. If the land is fertile-"

"Than there's gotta be Mako," Barret grumbled. Why was he not surprised that _that_ was what this was all about? It seemed to be the only thing ShinRa Inc. cared for.

"Exactly," Shinra nodded, looking at Barret in some surprise. "Perhaps you are not as dim as I first suspected." Barret gave Shinra a dirty look, one which the president ignored. "For as long as ShinRa has held power, it has taken Mako reactors to draw the energy from the ground. And such technologies do not come cheaply. But at the Promised Land, the Mako is said to come on its own. That is where Neo-Midgar shall be built. ShinRa's new glory-"

"Damn it!" Barret interrupted again, loudly. He stared at the president in utter hatred. "Quit dreamin'!"

"That is hardly necessary," Shinra told the black man patronizingly. "These days all it takes for dreams to come true is money and power. Since I have both, I can have whatever I want. Including this."

At that moment, there was a knock from behind Cloud. He, Tifa, Barret, and Red Thirteen all looked awkwardly over their shoulders to see a door open from behind them. One man, who Cloud recognized as Reno from the Turks, came swaggering in, with a second man behind him. The second man was big... almost as big as Barret. He dressed smartly in a business suit, had a cleanly shaven head, and wore sunglasses and a golden earring on one ear.

"Sorry to interrupt, Mr. President," Reno said in that same irritatingly suave voice as he came to stand with his arms crossed behind Cloud, staring down at the mercenary haughtily. "Their cells are now ready for them."

"Cells?" Tifa asked, sounding slightly alarmed. She had known it wouldn't be good for them now that they had been captured. But being tied to a chair was one thing... the thought of being thrown into a cell made it seem more... permanent. She glanced at Cloud in alarm.

Shinra glanced at Tifa with a cold smile. But he addressed all of them. "We will be moving you to another location right now. If you cooperate, it will be to the same location as your dear friend. But if you don't behave, she will suffer for it."

"You won't do anything to her," Cloud informed the president coldly. "You need her."

"True," Shinra acknowledged. "But that does not mean we need her unspoiled." His words were met with silence from the mercenary, who stared back at him with a hatred that, though more controlled than Barret's, was nevertheless unparalleled.

Barret, on the other hand, was fuming. "Oh you sorry ass! Untie me and just see wha' I'll do ta ya! I'll – You'll – and the pain! You won' even! The planet'll be the last thing on your mind!"

Shinra glanced in disgust at Cloud. "Ex-SOLDIER... And you put up with this kind of behavior? He isn't fit to be called a leader if he can't even utter three comprehensible sentences."

"He respects and cares for the people beneath him," Cloud quietly defended the leader of Avalanche. Barret and Tifa both looked over at the mercenary in amazement. "That makes him more of a leader than you could ever be."

Shinra studied Cloud's face for a moment, and then made his way past the prisoners. "Reno. Rude. See that they are locked in tightly." The two other men nodded as they looked back at the prisoners.

"Hey!" Barret shouted, struggling to look over his shoulder to watch the retreating president. "I ain't done talking to you! Get your ass back in here now!"

"Shut up!" the large, bald headed man, Rude, ordered, smacking the back of Barret's head.

At the same moment, Shinra replied. "If you need anything else, talk to my secretary."

OOOOOOO

Though none of them were truly convinced Shinra would carry through with his threat to hurt Aeris, Cloud and his three companions nevertheless complied when Reno and Rude escorted them out of the room they had awoken in. Tifa and Barret had both been untied, and Red Thirteen had been unshackled. Only Cloud was forced to walk with his hands still bound behind him.

Rude had ordered them to walk in a tightly knit group, and he and Reno walked at a relative distance behind, and with weapons armed and at the ready. At one point, Tifa had sensed Reno's eyes on her, and, feeling disgust add the weight of every other emotion coursing through her body, couldn't for the life of her just keep going on like that. Without thinking, and without warning, she spun around with the very real intention of drop kicking the Turk straight to hell. But Cloud, somehow managing to sense this, quickly twisted his body in such a way that, even with his hands tied behind him, he was able to grab her ankle before it lifted too high off the ground. He held it, and Tifa glanced at him in surprise as Reno and Rude pointed their guns with more lethal intent.

"That's right, soldier," Reno told Cloud hotly, though somewhat disturbed by the man's agility even with his hands tied. The mercenary glared at the Turk, but Reno refused to show his alarm. He hid it underneath conceit. "Keep a leash on your pets, or it's Aeris that'll get it."

"Watch ya mouth," Barret ordered snidely as both Cloud and Tifa glared at Reno in abhorrence. Red Thirteen's tail flicked slightly as he watched the scene impassively. Cloud was actually impressed with the creature's willingness to cooperate for a bunch of humans he couldn't possibly have felt any concern for. He felt his trust for the strange large cat growing as he let go of Tifa's ankle. She slowly returned it back to the floor and mumbled something under her breath.

They only needed to pass through a few more corridors before they came to a large gray door on one side of the hall. Rude walked up to it with a card key in hand. He quickly slid the card through a slot on the wall, and the door opened. Tifa felt her body tense as she realized just what kind of cells Shinra had ordered them into. These kinds of cells were nearly impenetrable...

Rude gestured for them to enter, and they obeyed. Inside, they found themselves in another corridor, only this one was smaller and darker. It was also rather cold. There were several other large gray doors. They couldn't be opened with door handles. They were sliding doors, and as Rude walked over to another panel on the wall next to one of the doors and began punching a code into it, Cloud realized they could only be opened with numbers. Other than that, it would predictably be bullet proof, fire proof, hell, probably even Materia proof! Not that the Materia would even be an issue... Cloud knew their Materia was as gone as his Buster Sword was.

The door slid open. Rude turned towards the prisoners. "The cat and the guy who won't shut up; get into this one." Barret and Red Thirteen glanced at each other sourly, but nevertheless continued to obey. Rude punched another code into the panel, and the door slid shut. Then the large Turk turned to another door and punched another code into a similar panel. The door opened and he glanced at Cloud and Tifa, nodding them towards the cell.

Tifa hesitated, her face having gone pale. Her body was stiff, and Cloud could almost swear he could hear her heart racing.

He stepped slightly towards her so that he could whisper encouragement. "It'll be okay. At least we'll be together and I can get you out of this."

"What's that?" Rude demanded loudly. Cloud glanced at him, but before he could say anything, Tifa was walking into the cell. Cloud's gaze turned back towards her and he followed.

Rude glanced at Reno, but the latter Turk just shrugged, so the former punched the code into the panel and the door slammed shut.

Inside, the cell turned out to be a tiny room with a metal floor, ceiling, and walls. There were no windows, there was no furniture, with the exception of a toilet in the corner, and as far as that was concerned, there was no privacy. As far as lights went, they were there, lying flat in the ceiling, producing a harsh, cold luminescence. Next to the door, Cloud spotted a small, rectangular slot through which he guessed food could be inserted. Therefore, it seemed all too likely that there would not be another reason for their cell door to open... They might well have been shoved into a cage with no key so that they could slowly rot to death. Cloud sighed and Tifa let out a quiet shudder.

"Here," she turned towards him and gently, or rather, timidly, turned him to face away from her. She tried to loosen the knots of the ropes that bound his hands, but her fingers shook so fiercely that it was a struggle and took her far longer than it should have.

Once his hands finally were free, he faced Tifa and calmly took her hands in his. "I know you're scared."

"Scared?" she turned away as silent tears formed once more in her eyes. "I'm so many things right now I can't sort through all of them. I don't know what part of me's afraid and what part's everything else."

"A lot's happened in the last two days," Cloud allowed.

"Two days?" Tifa asked as her tears fell. "A lot's happened in the last five years! Ever since that-" Her words stopped abruptly as she choked on them. Her body shook with more severity.

Cloud closed his eyes as his face turned away. She was right. This hadn't begun a few days ago... It had begun with the fire...

_That face... Screams... They could be heard all around even as the sound of a roaring fire drowned them. But he could see that face staring at him through the night as the fire flared around him._

"Cloud...?" Tifa slowly turned towards him, fighting back tears as Cloud was brought snapping back to the present. "What's going to happen now?"

"I'll figure something out," he promised her. "For now, we should try resting. Get our strength back." He walked to the far side of the cell, turned, and sat down so that he was facing the door. He leaned against the wall.

Tifa glanced at him a moment, hesitated, made towards him, hesitated again, and sighed. She turned towards a corner and huddled in it. She wanted more than anything to be with Cloud... Her heart told her to seek his comfort. And yet, she couldn't bring her to do that. That, as much as anything else, brought fresh tears to her eyes.

OOOOOOO

In another cell, Barret was pacing in a large circle with steam practically fuming from his ears. Red Thirteen lay against the wall, and out of the large black man's way.

"This is a lot to sort through," Barret finally stopped his pacing and faced the large creature in frustration. "Aeris, this girl who I don't know but still feel bound to 'cause of wha' she did for my daughter, is an Ancient, but the Ancients are really called Cetra. And _they_ know where the Promised Land is, which is a land that, as far as we know, doesn't even exist! But ShinRa believes in it, wants it, all 'cause of Mako energy! And if they get their hands on _that_, than the planet'll be in even worse shape than it is right now!"

"Seems to me," Red said quietly. "That you've sorted through it perfectly well."

"Whatever," Barret studied the cat for a moment before he nodded. "Ya know, the planet's dying. I can't just leave 'em be! I'm recruiting new members for Avalanche! Me, Tifa, Cloud... possibly even Aeris, too! How 'bout you?"

Red Thirteen stared at Barret a moment, his tail flickering back and forth. But he said nothing.

Barret turned away unhappily. "You're so damn boring."

Red Thirteen rested his large head on his large paws and let out a breath. He had just traded one prison for another. And this one seemed even worse... It seemed impossible to escape from. Would he ever see his grandfather again?

OOOOOOO

The door opened.

Cloud and Tifa both sat up in surprise as Rude and Reno suddenly appeared outside their cell.

"For your good behavior," Reno said sourly as he stepped slightly to the side and made room for another prisoner to enter.

"Aeris!" Both Cloud and Tifa were on their feet as the smaller woman joined them. She, for one, didn't look either scared or angry, or even fazed! She just smiled softly at her two newest friends as if there was nothing in the world to be worried about. The door slammed shut behind her.

"Cloud," she gazed at him for a moment, then turned to the other woman. "Tifa. I'm so glad I'm not alone anymore."

"Are you okay?" Cloud asked as he strode over to her. He looked like he might reach out and touch her shoulders, but he stopped short and just faced her awkwardly, as if afraid of touching her... afraid his touch would hurt her.

"I'm fine," Aeris said cheerfully. "Really, Cloud. It's sweet that you're worried, but I've told you before... I can take care of myself."

"Aeris," Tifa found it hard to look at the other girl. She was beginning to feel it... what Cloud had been feeling. A strange sense of peace and warmth inside of her. It was a wonder that Aeris could inspire such things... It made her seem more... pure. Something Tifa could never measure up to... Because Aeris had a perfection about her that no one else had. Possibly because she was Cetra. But whatever it was, Tifa did not feel worthy...

"What is it, Tifa?" Aeris asked, glancing calmly at her. She wasn't afraid of any of this. Tifa recognized that. And envied it.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I asked you to take care of Marlene. That's why you got caught, isn't it?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Aeris told her gently. "As long as Marlene's safe, it was worth it. She was such an adorable little girl."

"But that's... no excuse," Tifa looked back up at Aeris.

"Tifa's right," Cloud agreed, looking solemnly at the Cetra. "I promised I'd protect you. I wasn't able to."

"So you just won't get that date," Aeris told him teasingly. But then she remembered Tifa, and her face suddenly flushed. Though Tifa knew she was embarrassed, she managed to _look_ even more pretty with color in her cheeks.

"Oh," Tifa looked away for a moment. "I get it." But Tifa, when she wanted to, knew how to change the subject. And at that moment, there was nothing she wanted to do more. She looked back at Aeris. "Please don't mind my asking, but... Does the Promised Land really exist?"

Aeris glanced quickly at Cloud, then shrugged. "I don't know." She looked back at Tifa. "All I know is that the Cetra were born from the planet, speak with the planet, and unlock the planet." She turned towards Cloud. "And then the Cetra will return to the Promised Land. A land that promises supreme happiness."

That sounded nice, Tifa thought sadly. But it also sounded impossible. She couldn't imagine any place in the world that could offer such a thing... Not when, just a few hours earlier, her home had been completely destroyed. Especially since that had not been the first time her home had been destroyed. With such meaningless destruction, with all that death and anguish... how could there be happiness in the world? "What does that mean?"

"More than words?" Aeris's voice softened. "I don't know." She sounded like she felt guilty... It was like she felt she _should_ know, and for her ignorance, she was at fault.

Cloud was frowning. He gazed thoughtfully at the floor. "Speak with the planet..."

He was right, Tifa thought. It was intriguing. If _she_ could speak with the planet, there would be so much she would want to know. Mainly, why did the planet not open up and swallow all of those who caused the world pain? "Just what does the planet say?"

Aeris looked down. "But the planet is filled with people and with noise. In Midgar, I can't make out what it's saying."

"Can you hear it now?" Cloud asked.

Aeris shook her head. "I only heard it at the church in the slums." A small smile formed on her face as some memory returned to her. "Mother said Midgar was no longer safe... My real mother, I mean. I was able to speak with her again." She looked at Cloud and Tifa with hope clearly expressed on her face. "Some day I'll get out of Midgar. Speak with the planet and find my Promised Land. That's what my mother told me."

"Yeah, well," Tifa glanced at the immovable door. "We can get out of Midgar later. First we might want to try getting out of _here_." She pointedly gestured to the cell they were imprisoned in.

"We will," Cloud told her, feeling confidence rush into him now that Aeris was present. She had this way... She could inspire such things inside him. He felt like nothing ShinRa put him up against would be too much. Not if she were there. He smiled encouragement at Tifa. "Leave that to me."

Tifa stared at him, then smiled and nodded. He was brave. Much braver than she felt. But with him, she did feel safe.

"Come on," Cloud walked back to his spot on the floor, against the wall that faced the door. "I guess keeping watch won't make so much of a difference in a place like this, but I'll stay up anyway. You two try getting some sleep. We'll put busting out on the top of our to do list tomorrow morning."

Tifa and Aeris both glanced at him for a moment, but then Aeris smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

"That's a great idea, Cloud!"

Tifa nodded her agreement as she walked back over to the corner she had been in before Aeris's arrival. She lay down on the hard, cold metal floor and shivered. Aeris noticed.

With a small sigh, the Cetra walked over and knelt down beside the other girl. Tifa looked up at her and Aeris smiled gently. "If we lay next to each other, we'll be warmer."

Tifa stared at Aeris in surprise. The inner peace Aeris inspired inside of people came flooding back, and Tifa could feel warmth already. It made her uncomfortable, for like Cloud, she was not used to feeling that way. But she didn't object as Aeris lay down. And she had been right. Close proximity generated warmth, and with it, somehow, Tifa was able to fall asleep. And while she slept, she was not troubled by the haunting dreams and images of death and anguish that she had been unconsciously dreading all night. Later, upon reflection, she would guess it had something to do with Aeris... For that, she would feel indebted to the Cetra. As Cloud and Barret already did.

OOOOOOO

There was no way to tell the time in those cells. Nevertheless, Cloud felt like hours had past. Both of the girls lay sleeping on the floor. Tifa, for once, looked like she was in peace. Cloud figured that had something to do with Aeris. A Cetra was bound to the planet. But apparently, they had other powers as well. Cloud had felt it generating from her, and now Tifa looked like she was feeling it as well.

Without warning, the lights in the cell went out. Neither Tifa nor Aeris stirred, but Cloud felt his body tense in alarm. Sudden, unusual changes in environments like this one were not usually signs of a night passing by as it should. Something was up.

That thought was confirmed when a new set of lights turned on in the cell. They were much dimmer than the previous ones had been, and were a shade of yellowy green. They cast eerie shadows throughout the room that unnerved the mercenary. It made the cell look more like some deep dungeon dug in the foulest corner of the world, and not on some high level floor in the ShinRa Headquarters of Midgar.

The second set of lights were from backup generators. That was how Cloud knew something was wrong. The backups only turned on when complete power failed. But in a building of such importance, like this one, especially in a building on the top plate of Midgar, like this one, the power simply did not go out. In fact, Cloud knew of several people who had thought the mere _idea_ of installing generators in the building was a waste of time and money, because they would never need them. But they were in use now... which meant something was wrong.

Cloud stood up and walked towards the door. Perhaps there had just been shortage in the circuits. If that was the case...

A strange sensation swept through Cloud, stopping his thoughts from processing any further. He stood in the middle of the cell, suddenly finding it hard to breathe as the familiar effects of Mako energy reacted with his body. His body tensed, his ears rang, the hair on the back of his neck bristled. Suddenly, he couldn't stand anymore, and was on his hands and knees as fire burned through his blood. He had never felt it so badly before. His vision darkened.

"_There was a fire..."_

"_Sephiroth!"_

"_I have to fix the destruction he's caused!"_

The door swept open. Cloud looked up and saw a shadow in its threshold. The shadow of a phantom that had long been dead. Ghosts weren't real... were they? Cloud had never believed in them. But the face he saw staring down at him then...

_That face... everyone was screaming. But that face kept gazing at him as the fire blazed. The fire engulfed. The face vanished behind the flames._

The ghost was holding something in his hand. He was holding many things... and he placed them on the floor as his eyes turned towards Tifa. Since Tifa was lying next to Aeris, and since Aeris was the one everyone seemed focused on in ShinRa Inc., for a moment Cloud was confused by how he was so certain that this ghost should be looking at her. But he couldn't deny it. The ghost seemed to have his eyes fixed on Tifa.

That angered Cloud, and he desperately wanted to get up and wipe the ghost clean from his memory. But his body wouldn't listen to him. His head was aching like it had never in his life. His vision darkened again, and Cloud completely blackened out.

OOOOOOO

"Cloud!"

"What's wrong with him?"

"Cloud! Wake up!"

Cloud groaned as his eyes opened. It was dark in the cell. The lights... they had died and backup generators were lighting the room. But Cloud had known that already.

Tifa and Aeris were both on the floor next to him, and they helped him sit up. His head still ached, but it was a dull ache, and with Aeris at his side, it didn't even seem that much any more.

"What happened?" he asked, taking a few deep breaths as his wits returned to him. He could remember some things... the lights going out. The generators turning on. Had the ghost truly been there... Or had he been a dream.

"Something woke Tifa," Aeris explained. "And she woke me. We found you unconscious... and we found this." She gestured around them. Cloud frowned, narrowing his eyes as he looked towards the door. It was open. His Buster Sword lay on the floor, and his Materia had been returned to him.

"I don't understand," Cloud said, mostly because he honestly _didn't_ understand. What he had seen... It couldn't have been real. _He_ was dead.

"Neither do we," Aeris stated.

"No," Tifa agreed. She was gazing at the open door, and had a frightened expression on her face. She looked like she was being haunted by something... Something not even Aeris could calm her from. "But I had the strangest feeling..."

Cloud slowly pushed his way over to his sword, which lay in its sheath. He didn't understand it... But that didn't mean he wouldn't make use of it. He buckled the sheath onto his back, and collected the Materia into his belt. When his hands reached towards the gray sphere, he glanced towards Tifa. She wasn't looking at it. Cloud placed it with the rest of his Materia.

"Well," he turned towards the door. "It's pointless just staying here. Let's go."

"All right," Aeris grinned mischievously. "Time to make our daring escape!" She raced past Cloud and out into the hall. Looking around, she noticed that there was another door that had been opened.

"Barret," Tifa quickly stated, as she and Cloud followed Aeris into the hall. Cloud nodded and walked into the other cell. Both Barret and Red Thirteen were sleeping, oblivious to the wonderful opportunity they hadn't asked for but had been given regardless.

Cloud walked over to Barret and nudged him with his foot. "Barret. Let's go!"

Barret woke with a start and threw his arm up towards Cloud. But when he realized who it was, the machine gun dropped slightly. Barret stared at the mercenary in amazement. "How'd you get in?" He glanced around Cloud and saw Aeris and Tifa in the doorway. "Why's the door open?" He glanced back at Cloud. "What the hell's going on?"

By this time, Red Thirteen had awoken as well. The large cat gazed around him thoughtfully. He gracefully rose to his four feet. "It would appear that ShinRa's security tonight is severely lacking."

"Fortunately for us," Aeris said cheerfully. She looked at Barret. "I know this probably isn't the best time, but we haven't met yet. I'm Aeris Gainsborough."

"I'm Barret Wallace," he told her, still unable to wipe the astonishment off his face. "Marlene's father."

Aeris brightened even more. "Really? She's such a sweet little girl."

"Let's save this for later," Cloud interrupted. "I kinda wanna get outta here." Tifa and Red Thirteen were both nodding.

Barret pushed himself up to his feet. "Than whatta we waiting for?"

"You," Cloud snapped, turning to walk out of the cell. The others followed him close behind. Once in the hall again, they found, though not so much to their surprise this time, that the large door leading out into the main corridor, was open as well. They hurried out into it.

"Looks like power really was cut everywhere," Tifa observed, a chill running down her spine. Throughout the building, it seemed, the yellow green lights of the generators dimly illuminated the rooms and corridors. It made the building seem more and more like the death trap that it was. And something about all of this... just seemed so familiar. Tifa hated this! "There's something wrong!"

"What do you mean?" Barret demanded.

"Blood," Red Thirteen filled in. Everyone glanced at the cat, whose tail was no longer flicking. It hung low, even as his ears rested flat against his head. "I can smell it. In large amounts."

"That doesn't sound good," Barret stated.

"It's not," Aeris said, her voice growing painfully solemn. "There has been death in this building. And not from your little invasion earlier tonight. This death... comes from darkness."

"Let's keep going," Cloud suggested, feeling as unnerved as the rest of them did. They turned and headed quickly down the corridor. But before long the corridor turned... and when they turned that corner...

Cloud came to an immediate halt. He quickly turned towards the girls, hoping to push them back around the corner before they could see... But they had already seen. Aeris's eyes lost their shine, and Tifa's face twisted in pain.

"Damn," Barret cursed when he saw it. Red Thirteen seemed to be shrinking entirely towards the floor. As if there hadn't been enough death already.

Bodies littered the corridor. True, Cloud, Tifa, and Barret had fought their way into the building earlier, but not like this. Here... there was blood everywhere. The walls were practically covered in it. The corpses... the bodies had been torn open. Each corpse had multiple wounds that were each expertly inflicted. Their faces... for those who still had faces... were twisted in fear and anguish. But none of them actually looked like they were in physical pain... they had died too quickly to feel any of their injuries. Whoever had done this had kept mutilating their bodies even after their deaths.

"No human could have done this," Red Thirteen whispered as he slowly backed away from the bodies in that corridor.

"I know of some who would," Barret replied. "But I've never seen a slaughter like this..." It wasn't like a terrorist bombing... a ShinRa massacre... There was something in this that spoke of Hell itself.

With the dim lights that barely lit the halls, in the ShinRa Headquarters, Cloud felt like he was trapped inside a nightmare. Tifa's eyes were no longer wet with tears. She was so horrified, so frightened, and so shocked, that tears simply couldn't come. She knew this moment would return to haunt her often in the future... if she survived it. After all, how many people could enter the devil's tower and actually survive? And for those who could, how many could actually escape from it?

"Who could have done this?" Aeris asked softly, looking away. She could almost feel it. The terror that had been dealt here. The fear these people had felt before they had died.

"Let's not find out," Cloud suggested. He turned and led them back the way they had come. They would just have to find another way out, for Cloud would not have them walk through all those bodies... all that blood... especially not Aeris or Tifa.

They rounded several corners before they found several escalators, leading both up and down. None of the escalators were running, but on one, coming up from the floor below, there was a trail of more blood, and it turned towards another escalator that led to floor above, and continued upwards.

"Someone went up," Barret pointed out needlessly.

"We don't know that," Red Thirteen offered a different perspective. "Someone might have gone done."

"Someone's going in both directions," Aeris argued. "There was no blood in the corridor we were in, other than the one where those people died. Which means whoever killed them went downstairs along another route, and came back up through this one. Or vice versa."

"To what end?" Red Thirteen demanded, though he didn't disagree with her.

"Who cares?" Tifa demanded, her voice close to breaking. It was getting heavier. The feeling that hell was trying to trap her... suffocate her. She turned towards Cloud. "I just wanna get outta here!"

Cloud nodded, but there was a frown on his face as well. "What floor are we on right now?"

"Sixty-sixth, I think," Red Thirteen offered. "The escalator leads up to the science laboratory where... we met."

_That's where Jenova's tank was,_ Cloud remembered. Damn. Why'd they have to bring that here? Were they _that_ stupid?

"I have to see something," Cloud told them, walking towards the escalator that was leading upwards. His body was stiff... it was obvious that he was about to do something he didn't want to do. Go somewhere he didn't want to go.

"Cloud!" Tifa felt her heart twist painfully.

"Hey, man," Barret's voice was low and harsh. "Have you completely lost it? What can you possibly want to see up there?"

"The Jenova Specimen," Red Thirteen looked up at Cloud in interest. The mercenary hesitated and looked back at the large cat in surprise. Red nodded. "What else could it be up there?"

"What do you know of it?" Cloud asked, eager to hear, hoping to understand what was going on.

"Not much," Red replied. "But my guess is whoever did all of this is still up there, or they're both gone by now. And it's probably the latter."

"You're probably right," Cloud agreed. At that moment, Aeris whirled around. Everyone glanced at her in surprise.

"Someone else has..." Aeris couldn't finish that sentence. Instead, she ran off in a direction away from the escalators.

"Hey!" Cloud shouted, bolting after her. Red Thirteen and Barret followed close behind. Only Tifa hesitated, looking longingly back at the escalators which led down and towards her only way out of this horror. But then the thought of being alone when there was a cold, brutal murderer in the building with her... Tifa quickly ran after Aeris, Cloud, and the others.

Cloud quickly caught up with Aeris, who, though winded, couldn't stop running. And he didn't try to stop her, either. He was quickly realizing that _any_ excuse to not go up to the next floor and see if his worst fears had come true were acceptable to him.

They soon found themselves in a part of the building that Cloud recognized. They were headed towards the office in which Shinra had had his conference earlier that evening, when Cloud, Barret, and Tifa had spied on him.

Aeris came to a halt outside of it. She was gasping for breath by that point, though none of the others were winded. Tifa, however, looked unnaturally pale.

"Aeris," Cloud looked at the Cetra. "What's wrong? Why are we here?"

"I could feel him," Aeris looked over at the mercenary with wide eyes. "I felt him when it happened."

"Do I wanna _know_ what it was you felt?" Barret demanded. He looked around him in frustration. "Come on, guys! We're supposed to be making our big get away! Not trying to solve some murder mystery!"

"This is much bigger than a murder mystery," Red Thirteen told him, somewhat spitefully.

"Let's see," Cloud said, walking to the door of the conference room and pushing it open. Inside, it was as dark as it was in the halls. The backup lights barely lit the room, and the shadows created by them seemed to be where several demons were hiding. But the real demon, the truth, was much more clear and would leave a much greater imprint on all their minds.

For on the edge of the conference table, one new corpse, fresh, from the look of it, was lying on his back with his legs dangling towards the ground, as if he had been pushed backwards and onto it. The only thing that kept the corpse from slipping to the floor was a single blade that dug neatly through his throat and into the table itself, pinning him there. The sword was one that Cloud and Tifa thought they recognized. The corpse was one they _all_ recognized.

"He's dead," Barret stated, stunned, his face gone slack in surprised disbelief. "The president... he's dead..."

Tifa stared at the way this man had died, and suddenly felt sick. She turned and walked out into the hall. She couldn't stand this any longer! She felt faint and dizzy.

"But..." Barret simply couldn't believe it. "How is this possible? I mean, he's President Shinra! He's supposed to be untouchable! He's supposed to have the best personal security!"

"Against the wielder of that sword," Cloud said, staring at the blade that had impaled the president. "No amount of security could have protected him."

Barret, Red Thirteen, and Aeris all stared at Cloud in bewilderment. But the mercenary left it at that, turning to leave the conference room. He found Tifa outside in the corridor, sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, and curled up into a ball. He knelt down beside her.

"That sword," she said, shaking her head slowly back and forth, her face pale, frightened, and ill. "It... it belonged to..."

Cloud nodded. "I know."

"He's dead," she stared at the mercenary miserably. "You said he was gone!"

"I know," Cloud said again, forcing his own body to keep from shaking. He had to be strong for her. "I thought he couldn't possibly have survived."

"Who is it?" Barret demanded as he, Aeris, and Red Thirteen joined them in the hall. "Who could have done that and how do the two of you know him?"

"Please Cloud," Tifa begged, looking at him, her shock and horror no longer enough to keep the tears from her eyes. "I just want out of here."

Before Cloud could say anything, a sudden movement to their left caught their attention. The five of them practically jumped at the unexpected sign of life, and looked after it in alarm. And with the next passing moment, both Cloud and Red Thirteen were racing for it.

"Hey!" Barret shouted. He was quick to follow.

Only Aeris waited to help Tifa to her feet. The Cetra gave the other girl an encouraging smile. "Don't worry, Tifa. We'll make it out of here." Tifa nodded, though she hardly looked convinced. The two girls ran to catch up.

The man managed to make it to the escalators before Cloud and Red Thirteen were able to get a good view of him. He moved at an incredible speed, which wasn't that surprising since most of the people in the building apparently had been slaughtered, and once a person's survival instincts kick in, they're always more impressive than one may expect. The man was heading upstairs, which caused Cloud to hesitate. It was obvious the man was no murderer, he looked much too pathetic. And going upstairs could easily mean passing by the Jenova tank.

Red Thirteen, however, didn't hesitate. He bolted upstairs after the man and disappeared on the higher level. Cloud hastened to follow as Barret caught up, who followed, as did Aeris and Tifa when they reached the escalators.

As Cloud had feared, their prey raced towards the laboratory. The group followed him in, and the sight caused even Red Thirteen to hesitate. The tank in that room had been completely destroyed. Strange, unnatural fluids covered the floor. There was wreckage everywhere, but no sign of the specimen that had been inside of it. But while this caused Cloud and his group to hesitate, the man they were chasing ignored it and continued on into the next room over.

"Damn," Barret cursed, hating the entire situation. He glanced at Cloud. "This what you wanted to come up here to see?"

"No," Cloud shook his head. "This was what I wanted to come up here to _not_ see." It was sufficient evidence for him. A man who he had thought to be dead was alive. And he had taken Jenova and killed all those people, including President Shinra.

"Hey," Aeris sounded nervous. "Let's just go after that guy like we were doing, okay?" Before anyone could object, she was running towards the next room where, not too long ago, both she and Red Thirteen had been prisoners.

Cloud tried holding back his frustration. "Aeris!" He chased after her, as did the rest. In the other room, there was another door that Cloud hadn't seen before, but which Aeris must have been familiar with. She ran towards it and pushed through it. When the others followed, they found themselves, much to their amazement, standing outside on the roof!

Tifa immediately ran out so that she might see the night sky. But even on the roof of the tallest building in Midgar, the smog and the clouds were enough to hide the stars and the moon from sight. Her own despair continued to increase.

The man they had been chasing, a man who went by the name of Palmer, was standing near the building's edge. When he heard Tifa, he spun around in fear. His eyes quickly took in the sight of her, Cloud, Red Thirteen, Barret, and Aeris. His face paled as he sank to the floor. "Please don't kill me!"

Cloud and the others rushed towards him. "What happened?" The man was trembling and couldn't quite bring himself to answer. Cloud angrily repeated the question.

"Sep... Sep..." the man's voice was shaking as furiously as his body. It took him a few moments to spit out the hated name. "Sephiroth! He came here!"

Tifa found herself sinking miserably to the floor as well. Barret, Red Thirteen, and Aeris, however, were all approaching Palmer in interest. Everyone had heard stories of Sephiroth, the legendary SOLDIER. But his name did not have the same meaning to them as it did to Cloud and Tifa.

"Did you see him?" Cloud demanded angrily, wishing he could be able to deny it, but somehow knowing that wasn't possible. "Did you see Sephiroth?"

"Yeah!" Palmer shouted. "I saw him! I saw him with my own eyes!"

"You really saw him?" Cloud asked, hoping he hadn't heard correctly. Palmer made his own sound of frustration.

"Would I lie to you at a time like this?" he demanded fearfully. "I even heard his voice! He was saying something about not letting us have the Promised Land!"

Tifa stared at Palmer spitefully and unbelievingly. "Then what?" she demanded in her own wave of fury and skepticism. "Does that mean the Promised Land really does exist and Sephiroth's trying to save it from ShinRa?"

Barret obviously failed to hear the sarcasm in her voice. "So he's a good guy, then?"

"Save the Promised Land?" Cloud stared at Barret incredulous. "A good guy? No way!" He looked back at Palmer suspiciously. "It's not that simple. I know him!" This caused everyone but Tifa to stare at Cloud in surprise. The mercenary nodded. "Sephiroth's mission is different."

Aeris suddenly pointed towards the sky. "Helicopter." Everyone followed her gaze, and sure enough, they could now both see and hear its approach.

On the far side of the building's roof, there was a landing station for copters. It was headed for that, and the wind its blades generated was strong and loud. It quickly came down on top of the building, and until the pilot turned the copter off and its blades stopped spinning, it was all the rest of them could do to remain on their feet with such extreme pressure. But once the helicopter was down and at rest, Palmer bolted towards it.

Barret hopped unhappily. "Damn it! It's Rufus! I forgot about him!"

"Who's Rufus?" Tifa asked automatically, though she doubted, in their current situation, that he could be of any importance.

"Vice President Rufus," Barret whined. "The President's son!" They watched as a rather young, tall, well built man with the late President Shinra's aristocratic face pushed out of the helicopter. Dressed in a completely white, and terribly expensive business suit, with his expensive haircut – for he had sleek golden hair that won over very many admirers – he was by far more dignified and more poised than his late father had ever hoped to be. Currently, he was on a cell phone, and possessed a rather serious demeanor.

"See to it," they heard him say before he turned off his phone. He noticed Palmer. "So. Sephiroth was actually here?"

Palmer looked completely miserable. "Yes... Mr. President."

Rufus seemed surprised by that. "President? So. He killed my father?" When Palmer nodded, the new president seemed more pleased than grievous. "Well. That's one thing I should thank him for."

"Bastard," Tifa whispered. Cloud barely gave her a glance before he started out towards the president with Aeris on his heels. Red Thirteen and Barret followed close behind.

As the group approached, Rufus noticed them for the first time. He frowned. "Who are all of you?"

"We're Avalanche, you jack ass!" Barret replied spitefully. "And I'm gonna finish the job that-"

"Barret!" Cloud snapped, looking towards the other man with equal, though much calmer, anger.

"What?" Barret demanded, spinning around to face the mercenary.

"I'll handle this," Cloud stated, for once taking the lead away from the leader. "Get Tifa and Aeris outta this building! And take Red Thirteen, too!"

"What?" Barret stared at the mercenary in stupefaction.

"I'll explain later, Barret," Cloud said, trying to keep his annoyance in check. "But this is the real crisis for the planet!"

"The hell's _that_ supposed to mean?" Barret demanded suspiciously.

"I'll tell you later," Cloud replied, sounding more urgent with each passing word. "Just take my word for it now!"

"Fine!" Barret shouted back. He turned and raced back towards the door that led inside the building. He paused only long enough to help Tifa back onto her feet. Aeris and Red Thirteen followed loyally behind him. Cloud nodded his satisfaction, and turned back to face Rufus, who was frowning in return.

Meanwhile, the four others were racing through the laboratory and past the broken Jenova tank and down the escalator. Barret was going to lead them the rest of the way down when suddenly Aeris paused and looked back up.

"Cloud..." she spoke softly. "I just thought of something."

Tifa, despite her earlier desire to get out of ShinRa Headquarters as quickly as possible, suddenly didn't want to. She looked back up towards the upper level and the roof. She didn't want to be away from Cloud! Even this distance was too far! She only felt safe with him... She looked miserably back at Aeris, Barret, and Red Thirteen. "I'm going to wait for Cloud. The rest of you should get out!"

"Tifa!" Barret objected, but her mind was made up. She stared at Barret, stubborn in her misery.

Back on the roof, Cloud and Rufus were facing off, with Palmer and Rufus's pilot in the helicopter watching.

"Why do you want to fight me?" Rufus finally asked.

"You seek the Promised Land," Cloud replied sharply. "Not to mention Sephiroth."

Rufus smiled ironically. "Are you surprised?" He took a few steps towards the mercenary. "Did you know that Sephiroth is an Ancient?"

Somehow, the information didn't surprise Cloud at all. "A lot's happened. Anyway, I can't let either you _or_ Sephiroth have the Promised Land."

"That's unfortunate," Rufus replied. "I guess this means we won't become friends." Cloud shook his head and drew his Buster Sword. But Rufus wasn't in the mood to fight. He lifted his arm up, and suddenly the helicopter came alive again, its blades spinning so furiously that the pressure was a lot for even an ex-SOLDIER like Cloud. Somehow, though, Rufus managed to climb back inside of it, while Cloud could only watch and attempt to keep upright on his feet.

Several minutes past, in which the helicopter lifted off the roof and began to fly away from the building. Cloud could only watch helplessly as the copter and its occupants disappeared into the night.


	11. Escaping Hell

**Chapter Ten: Escaping Hell**

Cloud dejectedly made his way back into the laboratory. This entire night seemed to be spiraling downhill. He could only wonder what was going to happen next.

Amidst the shattered glass of the large cylinder prisons Aeris and Red Thirteen had earlier been trapped in, Tifa was waiting. She stood, staring miserably at the floor, but when she sensed Cloud's approach, she looked up at him. For a moment, they could only gaze into each others' eyes.

"Tifa," Cloud finally made his way up to her. "What are you doing here? I told Barret to get out."

"I just," Tifa found she couldn't look into his eyes anymore. They were glowing in the darkness like they always did... But then, they reminded her of things she hated to remember. "You were too far from me... If Sephiroth is here... I'm afraid not to be with you."

"Here," Cloud reached for the gray Materia that he had placed in his belt. He handed it to her. "I seem to be giving this to you a lot. So, by now I guess I don't have to tell you..."

She took the small sphere into her hand and smiled sadly. "It will protect me when you're not there."

Cloud nodded. "We're going to get out of this, Tifa. I won't let anything happen to you."

"So much has already happened to me," Tifa looked up at him and nodded. "Thank you."

"Are you gonna be okay?" Cloud asked her. "I promised I'd get you outta here, but it'll be easier to do if I know you'll be fighting with me."

Tifa nodded. "I'll fight with you Cloud. I promised you I'd be strong."

He gently took her hand in his. "You're the strongest person I know." With those words said, he led her out of the laboratory, and towards their way to freedom from this place of Hell.

OOOOOOO

By the time Barret had led Red Thirteen and Aeris to the bottom floor, the Cetra was gasping so hard for breath she thought she was going to faint. She dropped to her knees, her long brown braid falling over her shoulder, as she felt sweat pour down her face. She couldn't believe how much energy that had taken. "Am I... ever... gonna get used to this?"

Red Thirteen walked around towards her and sat protectively at her side. She wrapped one of her arms around him, and held him for support. The large cat-like creature didn't seem to mind. "You be all right, miss."

While Barret waited for Aeris to catch her breath, he walked towards the large, grand entrance to the dark lobby. Through the huge glass windows that faced out into the city, he could see into the night. There were soldiers outside. Hundreds of them. They were all holding large guns and pointing them towards the entrances and windows. But they didn't look like they were going to try storming the building. They were waiting for whoever it was inside to attempt coming out.

"Damn it," Barret growled. He knew that with the lobby as dark as every other part of the building, it was unlikely that the soldiers outside could see very well into the room, and thus had no idea Barret, Red Thirteen, and Aeris were there, but he also knew the soldiers were probably positioned all around the building at every entrance and window. They clearly believed that Sephiroth was still inside, and were waiting for him to come out, where upon they would ambush him. But Barret doubted someone like Sephiroth would allow such a thing to happen, and could hardly believe ShinRa soldiers expected him to. He was amazed by their stupidity.

"Damn," he cursed again, and turned back towards Aeris and Red Thirteen. "Place's surrounded." _If I were alone, this wouldn't be such a bad thang, but I gotta a reputation to protect!_

Aeris's face, a moment before flushed from exertion, now grew pale. She looked at Red Thirteen for a moment, then back at Barret. "You two should find another way out... Leave me here... They don't care about you... It's me..."

"Yeah," Barret let out a small laugh. He shook his head. "That ain't happening. You got caught up in this over Marlene. Now it's my turn to watch out for you!" With that said, he readied his large, machine gun of an arm. "Play time's over." He turned towards the men surrounding the outside of the building. "Jack asses."

Aeris, though still winded, her throat burning, managed to smile. "Thank you... Mr. Barret."

Barret spun around. "Who ya calling 'Mr. Barret'! That don't sound right!" But then, the large black man hesitated, staring at Aeris awkwardly as a strange feeling of warm peace filled inside his heart. The way she smiled at him... _What the hell is that?_ He uncomfortably cleared his throat.

"Well then," Red Thirteen suddenly cut in. "If you are through talking, might I suggest that we think of a way out of here?"

"Huh?" Barret stared at Red in confusion, but then he jumped, suddenly alert again. "Right!" He then paused only long enough to glare at Red. "You a cold man. Just like someone else 'round here I know."

Red's tail flicked to the left and his voice took on a low growl. "Did you say something?"

Barret decided not to push it. "Notta thing!" He looked away, taking in the entire surrounding lobby. "So... any ideas?"

Tifa was suddenly in the room. "Barret!"

"Yo!" Barret spun around towards her, as did Red and Aeris. She was running towards them, but halted when she looked past the group to the windows and saw the soldiers waiting outside. Barret frowned. "Where's Cloud?"

"He's got a plan!" Tifa replied, looking back at Barret. "We saw those guys outside earlier... Cloud told me to get you guys over to the west side of the building. Apparently ShinRa Headquarters can boast owning one of the larger, better of garages!"

Barret, Red, and Aeris stared at Tifa in surprise. Barret could hardly keep his amazement out of his voice. "A _garage_?"

OOOOOOO

Cloud was getting ready a large black motorcycle when Tifa led Barret, Aeris, and Red Thirteen into the garage that had been constructed right off to the western part of ShinRa Headquarters. There were hundreds of vehicles there, and for a moment, all Barret could do was drop his mouth open in surprise.

"The _hell_?"

"No time to be impressed," Cloud told the leader of Avalanche. "We gotta get go!"

Aeris was shaking her head slightly. "I... I can't ride a motorcycle Cloud."

He glanced at her and nodded. "You don't have to. There's a few bullet proof trucks in here that Tifa'll be driving. I'm going on the motorcycle alone. With those ShinRa soldiers out there, they'll probably focus more on me than on a truck. It'll make it easier for the rest of you to get out."

Aeris's eyes widened. "That's a horrible idea! You'll be putting yourself in danger, Cloud!"

Cloud glanced at her and smiled. "I've been doing that for the last seven years." He glanced at Barret. "There's just one more thing I need your help with."

Barret crossed his arms and frowned. "Wha's that?"

Cloud smirked. "Just a little something to take those soldiers outside by surprise."

OOOOOOO

As a new morning slowly began to approach the city of Midgar, the soldiers surrounding the large building that served as the Headquarters of ShinRa Inc. all prayed that the new day would be less dramatic than the night before. But though tall buildings and smog prevented the rising sun's rays from shining down upon them, all else was quiet, and it seemed that just _maybe_ they might have their wish. But it was not meant to be.

To the west of the building a loud explosion rang out. Shouts of surprise and fear filled the streets of Midgar as citizens, who had uneasily been watching the ShinRa soldiers from their homes, ran outside in a desperate panic, terrified that some repetition of the horror from the night before was occurring.

The ShinRa raced towards the sound of the explosion. It had been a tiny one, as far as explosions went, and probably had done little damage and no injuries to speak of. And yet... everyone knew it wasn't a good thing.

For the soldiers who made it to where the explosion had occurred, and for the soldiers who had already been there, what had happened became clear. The flames of the small explosion were dying by then, and a large portion of the ShinRa garage's wall was missing.

Suddenly a truck came barreling outside. For a moment, the ShinRa soldiers were all too stunned to do anything about it. But a moment later, they raised their guns in an effort to fire at the vehicle.

But then a motorcycle practically flew outside after the truck. And the man riding on it lifted a large, powerful blade. He sent it flying towards the weapons of several of the ShinRa, who all fearfully dove away from him. And as those who were a safe distance from the motorcycle lifted their weapons and fired, the man expertly maneuvered past the bullets with extreme ease. He rode it quickly, and neither the ShinRa, nor their weapons, were any match for it. All they could do was watch as first the truck and then the motorcycle faded down the streets of Midgar and into the distance.

OOOOOOO

Several hours passed. As noon was approaching, time and circumstance found Cloud and his friends hiding beneath the streets of Midgar, in the sewers. Though no one looked happy to be there, Red Thirteen appeared to be, in particularly, disgusted. In an unhappy attempt to wipe grime off his face, his paw managed only to get even more waste on his snout. He sneezed, and glared at his new friends miserably. But none of them complained, for the sewers offered shelter from the ShinRa, and were a much better place to be than in the corporate building from hell.

"So..." Barret finally asked, breaking the silence as he gazed at the others. "What do we do now?"

With everything that had happened, they all knew there was no going back. Their world had changed. Sector Seven was gone. Avalanche itself was being blamed for it. Rufus was in charge of ShinRa Inc., and Barret had heard that the son was worse than the father. Too many had died... And one man too many had lived. Sephiroth... Yes, their world had changed, and now that they had succeeded in rescuing Aeris as they had set out to do, the road before them now seemed so obscure. And they all found themselves wondering where they could possibly go from there.

"Sephiroth is alive," Cloud finally spoke. His words made Tifa look away in misery, while all the others looked at him in uncertainty. Cloud glanced at Barret. "There's a score I have to settle."

Barret frowned. "Will that save the planet?" Cloud hadn't even thought about that, but now that he did, it seemed likely. He nodded. Barret nodded in return. "Awright. I'm coming with you."

"I'll go, too," Aeris said immediately. She glanced at Cloud and smiled sadly. "There's so much I wanna find out..."

Cloud stared at her in understanding. "About the Ancients?"

Aeris nodded. "About many things."

"As for me," Red Thirteen cut in, looking around at his companions. "I have no love for Midgar. But for the four of you... I find myself in great respect. If you are leaving the city, I will join you."

"Well," Cloud said with a small nod. "I know Sephiroth. He's probably long gone from Midgar by now. And with ShinRa probably keeping an eye out for us, it'll be pointless trying to stay here. So yeah. We'll be leaving." He turned towards Tifa. She was not looking at him, or at any of them. And out of all of them, she seemed the most miserable. "Tifa..." She looked at him, and he saw how haunted her eyes looked. "I'd understand... If you don't want to come."

"Why would I not want to come?" Tifa asked in a small voice. "This city is Hell... in every way. Who wouldn't want to leave?"

Her words echoed in all their hearts. Barret, for once, couldn't think for the life of him what to say. Red Thirteen found that his heart was pouring out to this girl, who he hadn't even known for a single day. Aeris wished she could find some way to offer Tifa comfort, as she wanted to offer everyone in the world comfort. And Cloud... he could only agree with her.

Finally Barret glanced at Cloud. "There's a small town to the northeast called Kalm. If we make it there, we can probably find some shelter or other. Think about what to do next."

Cloud nodded. "All right. Let's make our way to the bottom plate, find a truck, and head out there." No one seemed to mind, and no one objected.

OOOOOOO

Much to their surprise, slipping out of Midgar proved astonishingly easy. Over the course of the night, ShinRa technicians had found a way to get down to the bottom plates from the upper plates that had been cut off from them the night before. That had been the first thing the technicians had been _allowed_ to do, for hundreds of people from Midgar were eager to get down to see who had survived the destruction.

And on the bottom plate... hundreds more were even still frantically trying to evacuate. Amidst such chaotic confusion, the ShinRa who were trying to oversee it all were not paying the slightest attention to a truckload of people who, unbeknownst to them, were in fact the fugitives that had been blamed for all of this in the first place.

By the time day was ending and night, once again, was approaching, Cloud, Tifa, Aeris, Barret, and Red Thirteen were all on a small road outside the city driving northeast towards a town called Kalm. And after a few more hours Tifa asked Cloud, who was behind the wheel, to stop. He did, and the rest of the group watched as Tifa opened the truck's side door and jumped out. Aeris immediately followed, but the rest stayed in the vehicle.

The two girls walked a little bit away from the truck, into a small field. They both were unnaturally focused, and only stared into the space ahead of them. But once they were relatively distant from the others, Tifa finally stopped and looked up into the sky while Aeris fell to her knees and stared at the ground beneath her.

The stars shone brightly. The moon was full. They all seemed so far away, but also so bright and certain of their place in the sky. They looked confident and peaceful. As if nothing had changed since Tifa had last seen them so long ago before she came to Midgar. As if nothing in the world was wrong.

Tears stung in Tifa's eyes as she slowly sank to the ground beside Aeris. What would she not give to feel the way those celestial spheres seemingly felt... She could think of nothing.

Aeris reached out to touch Tifa's hand. A wave of inner peace shot through the latter girl, who looked at the Cetra in appreciation. For once Tifa's pain diminished and her heart felt light and clean.

"Thank you," Tifa whispered. Aeris smiled and nodded.

"I can hear the planet, Tifa," the Cetra told her. "It tells me... that there is no reason to abandon all hope. For the planet is strong, and does not want to die."

"It doesn't?" Tifa asked. "But there are worse things than death."

"But," Aeris quickly shot back. "There is nothing better than life."

Tifa looked away, her tears quietly falling down her face. She nodded, but could speak no more. They had escaped from Hell. Yet she couldn't help but wonder if they were all about to head into a deeper, colder, and more terrible Hell than the one from which they had just departed from.


	12. To Whom Do These Memories Belong?

**Chapter Eleven: To Whom Do These Memories Belong...?**

The town of Kalm was, as Barret had said it would be, a small town. It only held a population of about five hundred, if even _that_ much. The streets were paved, but the pavement job had been done years ago, and now they were in need of repair. The buildings were not cold and monotonous, and the tallest one only boasted four stories. Plant life grew all around, there was a park with actual trees and flowers, but no child played there, for it was late at night and everyone appeared to be at home. The homes, from what could be seen of them, were small, but comfortable and warm. And though the town was lit with street lights, they were dim, so that even in the midst of the town, the stars could still be seen.

Cloud parked the truck outside a small motel, and the group piled out. No one spoke, for it seemed like a dream from which they did not want to wake. This town... It was everything that Midgar was not. And it seemed filled with peace.

The group silently walked inside the vacant motel. At the reception desk, one man was leaning forward with his head buried in his arms, seemingly asleep. But as Cloud approached him, he glanced up with tired red eyes.

"Hello and welcome," he said, almost in a daze, before his eyes were capable of taking in the strange group before him. Once they were, he was immediately awake and staring at them, especially at Red Thirteen and Barret's arm, in surprise and shock.

"We need two rooms," Cloud gently informed the receptionist, feeling almost sorry for the poor man.

"Okay," the receptionist nodded, but didn't move. Cloud waited, and several moments later, the man jerked slightly and bent down, vanishing from view. Presently, he stood back up and handed Cloud two keys. Cloud appreciated that they were old fashioned keys that fit into locks... and not cards that slid through slots.

"That will be twenty five gil," the receptionist told Cloud. "Five for each of you." When Cloud handed over the money without complaint, the receptionist seemed to relax slightly. "We don't serve breakfast here... It's kind of a backwater place... this motel."

"That's fine," Cloud assured. "We're only going to be here the night. Thank you." Without another word, Cloud looked down at the keys and saw a string attached to each one. And attached to each string was a small slip of paper on which two room numbers had been written. Cloud quickly determined the location of those two rooms and led the group towards them.

The receptionist watched them go and let out another uncomfortable breath before he fell back onto his desk and seemingly slept once again.

Cloud, upon arriving at the two rooms which were conveniently placed next to each other, unlocked the first room, turned on a light, and led the group inside. The room was small. It held two small beds, one television set, a table and a few chairs, a bathroom, and one window that was covered by thick curtains. But though it was small, it seemed comfortable. The walls were plaster, not metal, the floor was of a soft beige carpet, also not metallic, and the room itself was warm.

Tifa immediately walked over to one of the beds and collapsed upon it. She lay there silently and did not move. For a moment, no one spoke as they took it all in. It seemed so long since they had last had such comfort.

Finally, Cloud turned. "I'll go unlock the other room."

But Barret stepped in his path. "Hold it a moment!" Cloud looked up at the leader of Avalanche, who stubbornly looked down at him and crossed his arms. "I'm not waiting another minute, mister! Certainly not for you to go 'unlock the other room'! I wanna hear your story and I wanna hear it _now_!"

Cloud's eyes narrowed slightly, but Barret wouldn't back down and wouldn't move. And Aeris, as if supporting the black man, silently shut the door behind her and locked it. Tifa sat up and looked at Cloud, who felt her eyes on him and looked back at her.

"They have a right to know," Tifa finally told him. And those words were the ones that convinced the mercenary. He nodded and walked over towards a chair. He unbuckled his Buster Sword and rested it on the ground before he sat down. Aeris walked over to the other bed and sat on it while Barret took a seat in a second chair. Red Thirteen lay down on the floor. For a moment, no one spoke.

But then Cloud began. "I used to want to be like Sephiroth when I was a boy. So seven years ago, I joined SOLDIER. After working with Sephiroth on several missions, we became friends."

Barret let out a laugh. "You call _that_ a friend?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. Well... I was just a boy at the time, and he was older than me. Someone to look up to. And he never talked about himself." Cloud unconsciously glanced at Tifa, but she didn't look like she was listening. She was staring at a wall, and her eyes seemed glazed over.

Cloud continued. "I guess you'd call him a war buddy. We trusted each other. Until that day..." Here he stopped, and Tifa's eyes clenched shut.

"One day?" Aeris prompted.

"After the war," Cloud went on as if he hadn't stopped. "It was SOLDIER's duty to put down any resistance to ShinRa. That was five years ago. I was sixteen."

"_We had been riding in a large van. Me. Sephiroth. And two other guards. I was restless, and could barely sit still. Sephiroth noticed._

" '_Hey, settle down,' Sephiroth told me. I glanced at him and smiled._

" '_They gave me some new Materia. I can't wait to use it!'_

"_Sephiroth rolled his eyes and shook his head. 'Typical. Just like a kid.'_

"_I asked if he was going to brief the three of us about the mission we had been assigned to go on. Sephiroth told us it wasn't going to be a typical mission, and I was glad. I had wanted to be just like him, but by the time I had reached First Class, the war had ended. And with its ending, so too did my hopes of growing famous end. So whenever there was a big mission, I signed up for it, almost as if I were trying to prove myself to them. Anyway, Sephiroth told us that our mission was to investigate an old Mako reactor. There had been reports about it malfunctioning and producing brutal creatures. We were to locate the problem and neutralize it. When I asked him where the Mako reactor was, he told me it was in Nibelheim. I was surprised, because that was where I had grown up, and I told him so._

"_I remember that after that, the man driving the van had swerved off the road. Sephiroth and I, with the two guards, jumped out of the van once it had parked and rushed around to see what had happened. We realized that a great winged monster had appeared in the road, taking the driver by surprise. The reports of monsters had been true. I had never seen such a creature. But Sephiroth... He wasn't the least bit fazed by it. In a matter of minutes, he had slain it with only his sword... Masamune..."_

"Sephiroth's strength is unreal," Cloud told them unhappily. "He is far stronger in reality than in any story you might have heard about him."

Aeris leaned forward, intrigued. "So... where do you come in?"

"Me?" Cloud glanced at her, then shrugged. "I was mesmerized by the way Sephiroth fought." Tifa frowned, glancing towards Cloud. She looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn't.

"Shortly after that," Cloud told them. "We reached Nibelheim."

" '_How does it feel?' Sephiroth asked, glancing at me. 'It's your first time back home, right? I wonder at what you must be feeling, for I do not have a hometown.'_

"_That surprised me, and I glanced at him sideways. 'What about your parents?'_

" '_My mother,' Sephiroth glanced down. 'Her name was Jenova. I never met her. She died after she gave birth to me... As for my father...' His face twisted in resent, but then it grew impassive again. It always seemed impassive. Calm. In control. 'What does it matter? We should move on.'"_

"Hold on a sec!" Barret interrupted, staring at Cloud in disgust. "Isn't that, um... The name of Sephiroth's mother! Wasn't that...?"

"The headless, heartless, disgusting specimen in that tank at ShinRa Headquarters?" Cloud finished the question for the black man, his voice filled with quiet hate. He nodded. "That's right."

Barret leaned back in his chair. "Damn."

"Barret!" Tifa spun around and snapped at the leader of Avalanche. "Would you _please_ just let us hear what Cloud has to say?" Her voice was sharp and angry. Everyone stared at her in shock, and for a moment no one spoke.

"Tifa..." Barret's voice was softer, and apologetic. "I was only..." Miserable, he looked back at Cloud. "You two grew up together, right?" Cloud nodded.

"Great!" Aeris said enthusiastically, trying hard to lighten the mood back up. "I wanna hear about a reunion of childhood pals!"

"Actually," Cloud replied. "I was really surprised with Tifa..." At that statement, the girl looked at him sharply, but didn't say anything. Cloud continued.

"_The town was quiet when we arrived. Everyone had to have been inside their homes... afraid to come out because of the monsters... Or afraid to come out because of us. Sephiroth told the guards to go inside the inn and get some sleep because we would be leaving for the reactor at dawn. He told me that I could see my family and friends, but he was just standing there, staring at the rest of the town with an odd expression on his face. I asked him what the matter was._

" '_It's just this scenery,' Sephiroth told me. 'I feel like I know this place...'_

"_He didn't say anything else about it, but told me to get some sleep soon myself. I told him he should, too, and he nodded and we walked into the inn together. Sephiroth had told me that he had hired a guide to the Mako reactor, and that he hoped we could rely on her because she was young._

"_The next morning, we were meeting outside with another man and a girl. I recognized them both. Tifa and her father, Mr. Lockheart. He was talking with Sephiroth._

" '_Listen to me, Sephiroth. In case something happens-'_

" '_Trust me,' Sephiroth told him confidently. Tifa seemed confident herself._

" '_I'll be all right, dad!' she told her father. 'I have two men from SOLDIER with me!' She looked at Sephiroth happily and introduced herself._

"_But I was stunned as I realized what they were talking about. I stared at Tifa. 'You're the guide?'_

"_Tifa smiled at me. 'That's right! I happen to be the number one guide in this town!' She didn't seem the least bit concerned, and I guess she shouldn't have. The reactor was on the mountain. Mt. Nibel. For which our town had been named. She was always climbing it. We used to say she was born to climb mountains. But I didn't care to think about that._

" '_It's too dangerous!' I told her. 'I can't involve you in something like this!'_

"_Sephiroth, however, didn't want to spend any more time looking for some other guide. He smiled at me. 'There will be no problem if you protect her. Let's go.'_

"_We headed up towards the mountain. It had been two years since I had last seen it or been on it, but I soon found myself recognizing the trail Tifa was leading us on. The mountain itself was a rugged one, dangerous to hike because it had hundreds of steep ledges and cliffs. It was exciting to climb up them, but dangerous, and there were caves all around that intertwined with other caves, leading to various parts of the mountain like an ant farm. Some of them led to where we were going, so it proved unnecessary to take any risks climbing up cliffs and ledges. Tifa led us to the entrance one such cave, one that I recognized. And I quickly remembered why I used to love going there as a kid._

"_The inside of the cavern was filled with color, mostly in a shade of green. It was the softest shade of green you could get without hinting any shade of yellow... It had been my favorite color, and apparently Sephiroth was impressed by it. To me and Tifa, it was the most common thing in the world, but Sephiroth thought it incredible._

" '_It must be from the Mako energy,' Sephiroth told us. 'This mountain is especially abundant in it. That's why the Mako reactor was built here!'_

"_We continued into the cavern until we came to a chamber that had always fascinated me. Up until this point, we had been using the light generated by Sephiroth's own Materia, but here it wasn't necessary. The chamber was made of a strange material that was shaped itself along the walls in various patterns. Some of it formed a large stalagmite, the surface of which was soft and warm and smooth. The material generated its own light. A colorful light, though like before, it was mostly green. Tifa and I had been here before, and though there was no other chamber like this one on the mountain, it wasn't a surprise to us. I had actually been looking forward to getting there! But Sephiroth..._

" '_This is...' he said, taking in his surroundings in awe. 'A Mako fountain! It's a miracle of nature!'_

" '_It's beautiful,' Tifa agreed. She sighed, sadly. 'If the Mako reactor continues to suck up the energy, this fountain will dry up too...'_

"_Sephiroth glanced down at the Materia he held that had been lighting their path. 'Materia. When you condense Mako energy, Materia is produced.' He stared back at the walls of the chamber and the stalagmite. 'That's all this is... Raw Materia. It's incredibly rare to see Materia in its natural state.'_

"_I was surprised by that. I hadn't realized the walls were raw Materia. But as I thought about it, some questions began forming in my mind that I had wanted to ask before, but had never known how to. I glanced at Sephiroth. 'What is it about Materia that allow you to use magic and all those other abilities?'_

"_Sephiroth glanced at me sideways. 'You are in SOLDIER, and you don't know that?' He shrugged before answering the question. 'The knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients is held within the Materia. Anyone with this knowledge can freely use the powers of the Land and Planet. That knowledge interacts between ourselves and the planet, calling up magic... or so they say.'_

" '_Magic?' I was fascinated. 'A mysterious power...' That caused Sephiroth to laugh. I looked at him with a pout and demanded to know what was so funny._

" '_A man once told me never to use an unscientific term such as mysterious power,' Sephiroth explained. 'It shouldn't even be called magic. I remember how angry he was.'_

" '_Who was that?' I asked._

" '_Hojo of Shinra Inc.' Sephiroth told me. 'An inexperienced man assigned to take over the work of a great scientist. He was a walking mass of complexes.'_

"_After that, we continued on through the cave. Eventually we arrived back outside, and only a few more stretches from the Mako reactor. When we reached it, Tifa wanted to come inside with us, but Sephiroth told her she couldn't, because she was not authorized. He was really polite about it. He seemed to like Tifa, though he seemed to like most people, and he told the two other guards with us to keep her company. He and I went inside the reactor by ourselves._

"_Inside the Reactor, aside from all the mining equipment that aided the actual reactor, there were also several large tanks. Sephiroth stared at the tanks for a moment, for Reactors didn't generally have such things inside them. A moment later, we turned towards the actual reactor that mined the energy. I glanced at Sephiroth. Often reactors were given names, and I thought of the one that this one had. 'This is Jenova... right?' It seemed strange, because Sephiroth had told me that Jenova was the name of his mother._

"_Sephiroth ignored me. He had walked forward to inspect some equipment and the reactor. Eventually he stepped back from them and nodded. 'This is the reason for the malfunction. This part is broken. Cloud, close that valve.' He pointed towards a valve on the other side of the room, and I obeyed him. Once I had, I turned back to him and saw him standing in the middle of the chamber as if in deep contemplation._

" '_Why did it break...?' I waited for him to ponder that question. A moment later, he walked over to one of the mysterious tanks and peered inside. 'Oh. I see now. Hojo. But... even doing this will never put you on the same level as Professor Gast.' He stepped away from the tank and glanced at me. He gestured towards the reactor. 'This is a system that condenses and freezes the Mako energy... That is, when it's working correctly. And once that energy is further condensed, it forms Materia. Normally. But Hojo added something here. Take a look.' He gestured towards the tank._

"_I walked over to it and peered inside the small window placed on it. Inside there was... some sort of monster. I had never seen anything like it, and it disgusted me. When I looked away, Sephiroth was looking through the window of another tank. He backed up, his expression cold. I could tell from that expression that there was another, similar monster in that tank as well._

" '_What are they?' I asked him. He didn't even look at me._

" '_Normal members of SOLDIER are humans that have been showered with Mako energy by being placed in tanks like this one,' he told me, though I had already known that because I had gone through that experience. 'You're different from others. Stronger. Much more powerful. But you're still human. These creatures... looking at them, I can tell that they are, as we speak, being exposed to a high degree of Mako energy. Far more energy than you and most other SOLDIERs have ever been exposed to.'_

" '_But,' I glanced uncomfortably towards the tanks. 'They're monsters...'_

" '_Exactly,' Sephiroth agreed. 'And it's Hojo of ShinRa that produced these monsters. Mutated living organisms produced by Mako energy. That's what they really are.'_

"_I didn't want to think of that. I turned away from him. 'So. If, when I had been in that tank, when I had been exposed to Mako to become a SOLDIER, if they had used a much higher level, I could have become something like that...?' The thought terrified me. But then I shook my head and looked back at Sephiroth. 'But you were exposed to a much higher level of Mako energy than us. That's why you're so much stronger than other people in SOLDIER. And you're not a monster.'_

"_My words must have stuck in Sephiroth's mind. He looked at me, and his face changed. It twisted first into horror, and then into denial. 'No! I'm not...!' His expression melted back into horror. 'Was I?' He looked at the tank, a terrible realization entering his mind. 'Was I created this way? Am I the same as all these monsters...?'_

"_I realized he had taken my words the wrong way. I shook my head. 'Sephiroth... That's not what I meant...'_

"_He faced me angrily. 'You meant what you said! And you are right! The creatures in these tanks were humans! Like I was once!' His body began to shake. I had never seen him like this before, and it scared me. He must have seen that fear, and he laughed coldly. 'You think I've gone crazy? Perhaps. But this was a long way in its coming. Looking back, I've always sensed it... My power... How it is so unnatural. So different... People said I was special. But I never once thought...' He angrily looked towards the monsters in the tanks. 'Not like this!' He drew Masamune and without warning attacked the tank. He began to destroy them. One by one."_

"I don't know what kind of situation Sephiroth had grown up in," Cloud told his companions. "Or what his childhood had been like. I had heard that he had _always_ possessed great power. It must have made him very confused and lonely as a child. He probably used to imagine where his power came from. He probably had so many ideas... But when he realized the possibility that he had been created like those monsters... He wasn't a bad guy. He didn't want to think of himself as a monster, and even as a kid he probably tried pushing that one particular idea out of his mind. But when the idea was so suddenly and so rudely pushed back into his face, it had to have been too much for him. He snapped. I guess you can't really blame him."

Barret was shaking his head. "Damn ShinRa. The more I hear about them, the more I hate 'em!"

Tifa, the entire time Cloud had been relating the story, had been staring at him with a strange expression on her face. No one thought too much about it, for they all knew the memories must be hard for her. But now she looked close to tears, for some reason confused herself. "I... remember when he came out. Sephiroth, I mean. He was... so upset."

Aeris glanced at Tifa. "Oh, yeah! 'Cause you were out there with those two other guards!"

Tifa stared dully at the Cetra and nodded. "It was so long ago..." _And this still isn't making any sense!_

"We returned to Nibelheim," Cloud told them. "Sephiroth confined himself to the inn. He wouldn't talk to anyone."

"And then he disappeared," Tifa was speaking softly, almost to herself, as she herself remembered those events.

Cloud nodded. "I found him inside the biggest building in Nibelheim."

"We used to call it the Shinra Mansion," Tifa added. "We used to think it was haunted."

"Long ago," Cloud continued. "People from ShinRa used to live in that mansion."

"_When I found him, he was in a basement that I hadn't known the mansion even had. He was sitting by a table reading from a book._

" '_...An organism that was apparently dead was found in a two thousand year old geological stratum. Professor Gast named that organism Jenova... X Year, X Month, X Day. Jenova confirmed to be an Ancient. X Year, X Month, X Day. Jenova Project approved. The use of Mako Reactor One for the use of...' Here Sephiroth paused and thought out loud to himself. 'My mother's name is Jenova...' He looked back at the book. 'Jenova Project. Is this just a coincidence?' He shook his head in complete misery. 'Professor Gast... why didn't you tell me any of this...? Why did you have to die?'_

"_I didn't want to bother him, and he hadn't even acknowledged my presence. So I turned and I left him there. He was confused and he was grieving, and there was nothing I could do for him._

"_I returned later that night because I couldn't sleep. But when I found Sephiroth, he was in a chair at that table in the basement just laughing as he stared at the book. But this time, when I appeared in the room, he didn't ignore me. He heard me and jumped defensively to his feet. 'Who's there?' He saw me and relaxed. 'Oh. Humph. Traitor.'_

"_I didn't understand. 'Traitor?'_

" '_And an ignorant one,' Sephiroth spat at me. 'You want to know why? I'll tell you. Long ago, there was an itinerant race. They would migrate across the planet, settle, and then move on. The journey was often harsh and hard, but at the end of it, they would find the Promised Land and supreme happiness as a reward. But there were those who stopped their migrations and built shelters, electing to lead an easier life instead of one filled with constant turmoil, regardless of any promises of an ending with happiness. They were your ancestors. They were the ancestors of all people left on this planet. And they took that which the Cetra and the planet had made without giving back one whit in return!'_

"_His story frightened me. It sounded like a legend, but he seemed to believe it. 'Sephiroth...'_

" '_Long ago,' he kept relating his story to me. 'Disaster struck the planet. And the ancestors of mankind escaped it. But only because they hid from it. The planet would have died then were it not for the Cetra. They sacrificed everything to save a world that they belonged to. A world that belonged to _them_! And after the planet had been spared, their numbers diminished while your ancestors continued to increase. And today there are no Cetra! The planet is left in the hands of men._

"_I could feel my body shaking. There was so much that didn't make sense. 'What does that have to do with you?'_

" '_Everything!' Sephiroth shouted at me. He was in a rage. 'Over twenty years ago, an Ancient named Jenova was found in the geological stratum of the planet! She became central in the Jenova Project! It wanted to produce people with the power of the Ancients! No... the Cetra is what they are called. And _I_ am the one they produced!'_

"_I couldn't believe what he was saying. 'Produced?'_

" '_Yes,' Sephiroth said, his voice suddenly soft, his rage suddenly under control. He looked at me in bitterness. 'The leader of the Jenova Project was a brilliant scientist named Professor Gast. He, with the help of Hojo, produced me.'_

"_I was so confused. I wanted to ask more, but Sephiroth walked past me, saying he wanted to be with his mother. He left me there, and I did not follow immediately. I was too shocked... Stunned... Sephiroth had once been such an important figure in my life. Seeing him like that was like a blow to everything I held dear. I felt ill and weak, and for the longest time just stood there, replaying the scene over and over again in my mind._

"_When I finally walked out of the basement, I knew immediately that something was wrong. I could hear something that didn't sound natural. I didn't know what it was. But then I could hear screaming. I ran outside and found that the entire town was in flames. I had never seen such a fire in my life. It was everywhere. And everywhere I turned I could hear people screaming and crying._

"_I rushed towards the center of the town, desperate to find some way to help. There was so much screaming. So many people everywhere in a panic. It was night, and even with the flames, everything seemed so dark. I had no idea what to do. It was chaos. But then something caught my eye._

"_I saw Sephiroth. He was not far from me, holding his sword, the Masamune. There was a man beside him, and I watched helplessly as Sephiroth shoved his blade into the man's chest. There was a small explosion to my left, and I had to shield myself from it. I ended up on the ground, and when I looked back at Sephiroth, he was staring at me. There were flames all around him. That was the clearest image in my mind. I don't know why, but all my other memories of him seem fuzzy. This particular image... Sephiroth surrounded by flames... staring at me with a twisted, cruel expression on his face... The memory of him at that moment is not fuzzy to me at all. I can still see him turning his back to me and retreating into the fire that spat around him, as if it were engulfing him._

"_Later I went up to where I thought he would be. At the reactor. But I wasn't the first one there. I saw Tifa kneeling on the ground beside a body. It was her father. She was crying as she held in her hands the Masamune. It had to have been the weapon that had killed her father._

" '_Papa!' Tifa was crying. I had never seen her cry like that before. She was just so... It was hard seeing her like that. But before I could go to her, she was on her feet running towards the reactor, carrying the sword with her. I ran after her._

"_Inside the Reactor, Sephiroth had moved past the destroyed tanks and was staring at a large door I hadn't noticed before. He seemed to be talking to it, or rather to whatever was beyond the door. 'Mother! I'm here to see you! Please open the door!'_

"_Tifa hadn't noticed me behind her. She was so angry. She ran towards Sephiroth. 'How could you do that to Papa and to all those people?' Without waiting for a response, she held up the Masamune and ran towards him with it. He turned calmly towards her as she approached and as she raised the sword above her head, he expertly reached over and caught both her wrists. Without a word, he easily confiscated his sword. He stared at her for a moment, and then... He slashed the blade across her chest._

"_Letting go of her, he watched impassively as she fell violently onto the floor. Her head slammed against the ground, and all I could do was scream in horror as blood spilled around her. I was devastated, and at a complete loss. _

"_There was nothing for me to do but to race towards her, though I did look up at Sephiroth, and then found myself unable to look away. For the door behind him had opened, and he didn't give me another glance as he turned and walked into the chamber behind it._

"_I picked Tifa up in my arms. She was still conscious, but her head had been hit badly and she must have had a terrible concussion. There was blood everywhere, and I couldn't tell whether or not she would survive. But I feared the worst. When she looked at me, it was like she was seeing me for the first time since we had arrived in Nibelheim. _

"_She cried. It seemed difficult for her to breathe, and harder for her to talk. 'You... promised... you promised that you'd come... when I was in trouble...' A moment later her eyes closed. She was unconscious. _

"_At that moment, I feared she would die. As far as I knew, no one that Sephiroth had _ever _assailed had ever... survived. And I was so angry... I ran into the room after Sephiroth. He was standing in front of another tank... a much larger one that was transparent, as if it were made of glass. Inside of it there was a horrible monster unlike even the ones I had seen earlier. The monster was floating in some fluid, and Sephiroth seemed to be praising it._

" '_Mother! Let's take this planet back together!' he shouted at it. 'Let's go to the Promised Land!'_

" '_Sephiroth!' I shouted angrily. At the sound of his name, he turned around and calmly faced me. 'My family! My home! How could you do this?'_

"_He smirked. 'They've come again, mother.' He walked leisurely towards me. 'With her superior power, knowledge, and magic, my mother is destined to become ruler of this planet.' His face darkened slightly. 'But they... Those worthless creatures are stealing from the planet!' He spun back towards the monster in the tank. 'But now I'm here! Don't worry!'_

" '_But what about _my_ sadness?' I demanded. He turned towards me once again, with surprising grace. 'My family! My friends! The sadness of having my home taken from me! It's the same as your sadness!'_

" '_My sadness?' Sephiroth smirked. 'What do I have to be sad about? I am the chosen one. I was chosen to be the leader of this planet. What other possible result could have been when Gast and Hojo did this to me? They chose me, and now my mother has chosen me! I will take this planet back from you all for the Cetra! Why should I be sad?'_

"_I shook my head unhappily. 'What happened to you, Sephiroth? I trusted you...' My body shook violently as I drew my sword. I knew I was no match for him. I had seen what he had done to Tifa, and to everyone else... I didn't know what I was thinking, but nevertheless I raised my sword and challenged him. And he accepted. He drew his Masamune, and strode towards me.'_

"And that's what happened," Cloud finished. Aside from Tifa, who had curled up into a ball the moment he had mentioned her father's death, and who refused to look at anyone else in the room as tears welled up in her eyes, everyone else was staring at Cloud in astonishment.

"Wait a damn minute!" Barret stood up, not accepting that ending. "Ain't there supposed to be _more_?"

Cloud shrugged. "That's all I can remember." Wasn't it? Images flashed through his mind, but he could not keep up with them and he could not sort through them.

"But..." Aeris was shaking her head in wonder. "What happened to Sephiroth?"

"In terms of skill," Cloud replied quietly as he glanced away. "I couldn't have killed him. But official records state that he is dead. It was in the newspaper."

"Well," Aeris leaned backwards a bit. "ShinRa Inc. owns the paper, so you can't rely on that information."

"But!" Barret was hopping slightly on his feet. "I wanna know what happened! What happened next!" He was like a little kid who's favorite story ended before it was complete.

"What happened next?" Tifa repeated coldly. Everyone grew still at the sound of her voice. They glanced at her, and finally she turned to look at them. She could see it in their eyes. Sympathy. They felt sorry for her and what had happened to her. She hated it when people felt that.

She stood up and faced Barret. "When I woke up, I was no longer at the reactor. I wasn't even in Nibelheim any more! I was in Midgar! With my uncle! He had been visiting my father that week, and had survived the fire. He went looking for us, and found both me and my father! He said there was nothing left for me in Nibelheim, so he brought me to Midgar where I could be looked after by professional doctors! They all asked me what had happened! What had happened to Sephiroth! I didn't tell them anything! I wanted to go back home. Back to Nibelheim! But my uncle wouldn't let me! He worked for ShinRa Inc. and said that there was a full team of investigators out there looking into the whole affair and that I should not get involved. He thought I was fragile and weak and needed to be sheltered. So in an effort to prove that I wasn't, I learned how to fight. Without weapons. Because weapons don't make you strong! _You_ decide whether or not you're strong! But before that, a few weeks after I had healed, I found Cloud lying in a ditch in the slums of the city. He had been unconscious. For the next several weeks, he lay sick in a bed at my house. It was like he was in a coma. When he woke, he couldn't tell me anything! Not what had happened, not how he gotten there, not even how he had gotten sick! He couldn't remember!" She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "Or wouldn't."

Everyone was staring at her. There was pain in Cloud's eyes. He stood up... "Tifa..." She didn't want to hear any of it. She bolted away from them and their pity and ran into the bathroom. The rest of them could only listen as she shut and locked the door behind her.

Barret sat down glumly. "I never knew..."

Cloud glanced at the leader of Avalanche. "You've known Tifa for awhile now. You didn't know any of it?"

"I knew Tifa's uncle worked for ShinRa," Barret stated. "And that she had been living with him before she ran away and opened the Seventh Heaven. But other than that..." He shook his head.

Cloud closed his eyes, wishing he could remember. "She's right, though. I remember challenging Sephiroth. Then... I don't remember anything after that until I woke up in her home. She had saved my life... I still remember how happy I was to see that she was alive. I _had_ thought... I don't know. I had thought I'd never see her again. But then she was there with me."

"I'm so sorry," Aeris whispered. Barret and Red Thirteen seemed to be saying the same things themselves, only without words.

"That's why..." Cloud looked away from them. "That's why I have to find Sephiroth. I want to know the truth. I want to know what happened. I challenged Sephiroth and lived. And he lived too. But that seems impossible because if he had defeated me, why didn't he kill me?"

"And why didn't he kill Tifa?" Barret added. "I mean, I know he stabbed her, but she survived. How many others can say that?"

"It seems like a lot of this doesn't make any sense," Aeris stated. She glanced at Cloud. "What about Jenova? It was in the ShinRa building, right?"

Cloud nodded. "They must have shipped it from Nibelheim to Midgar. The stupid idiots."

"But then," Aeris was frowning. "Someone carried it out after that? It was missing from the building..."

"Sephiroth wanted it," Cloud said. "Which is another thing... Why did he wait five years? If he's been alive all this time?"

"Damn," Barret whispered. "Don't none of this make sense!" He crossed his arms and let out a frustrated huff.

Aeris glanced towards the bathroom. "...I... the Ancients... Cetra... Jenova... Sephiroth and myself...? This is just so much at once..."

Cloud followed her gaze. He glanced under the crack beneath the bathroom door, but the lights were not on. Tifa was in there by herself in the darkness. "I shouldn't have told you with her in here... The memories... They're painful."

"It is good that you did," Red Thirteen said, after having listened to the whole story in silence. "For they are her memories, some of them even more than yours. It was her right to be here when you shared them with us." Cloud nodded, but didn't say anything to that. So Red Thirteen took authority onto himself. "It is getting late. Perhaps we should all try getting some rest for the night."

Cloud nodded. "I'll go unlock the other door." But as he was leaving the room, Aeris stood up after him.

"Cloud," she walked after him. "I know you were going to split the rooms between guys and girls... But maybe tonight... Tifa would want a room to herself?" Cloud looked at the Cetra for a moment, then walked back in towards her. He handed her the key.

"I'll wait in here," he told his companions. "To let Tifa know when she comes out." Aeris nodded and with that, she, Red Thirteen, and Barret all filed out of the room. Barret gently shut the door on his way out.

In the bathroom, Tifa must have been listening, for as soon as she heard that door close, she slowly opened the bathroom door and walked out. There were tears in her eyes as she looked forlornly at Cloud.

"Tifa..." he walked towards her and when she suddenly broke down, he caught her and held her in his arms once more. He gently guided her back to the bed and sat with her as she cried.

"All of those... memories..." she spoke through her tears. "I... don't understand...! I just don't!"

"I know," he whispered.

"You don't..." she replied, shaking her head. "What it's been like for me! Three days ago... Sephiroth was dead to me! He was the furthest thing from my mind! And so much has happened since then! The people who should be alive today aren't! And Sephiroth, who has been dead all this time, is alive!"

"It's gonna be okay," he promised her. She just shook her head. A few minutes past, and Cloud glanced down at her. "Do you want to be alone tonight?"

She did not look up at him. She turned away from him. No. She did not want to be alone. She did not want him to be far from her. But neither did she want to tell him that... "Yes. I would like to be alone."

Cloud nodded and drew back from her. Without another word, he walked towards the door and quietly opened it. He turned and looked back at Tifa one last time before he silently shut it and turned away.

Tifa trembled when she felt the silence and the stillness in the room around her. Nothing about that night seemed real. It was like she was in a dream. But then, of course she had to have been in a dream. How else would Cloud have known everything that he had just related to all of them?

Tifa felt dizzy as she thought about Cloud's story. It had been so accurate... Frighteningly accurate. How could he have known all those things? When he hadn't even been there?

She thought about it miserably. He had told them what had happened in Nibelheim five years ago exactly as it had happened. But he had changed one major part of the story. He had taken on the role that someone else had played.

"It was Zack," she whispered, speaking to no one but herself. "All of it... It had been Zack..." Not Cloud. He had not been there. Except when...

When Sephiroth had stabbed her. She had fallen on the ground, and had hit her head. A moment later, Cloud had been there, holding her in his arms. Upon later reflection, she had suspected it had been a dream. She had, after all, been given a severe concussion that her uncle and her doctors told her had _alone_ almost ended her life, not to mention next to every other complication arising from her more severe wound. It was a miracle she had survived at all. _Had Cloud really been there? Had that not been a dream? He kept his promise..._

But even if it wasn't a dream, and he _had_ arrived right as Sephiroth had stabbed her, he certainly hadn't been there before. She would have recognized him! She was absolutely certain of it! But it hadn't been Cloud! It had been Zack! Unless...

Cloud remembered all of it. And he had not been stabbed, nor slammed his head against the floor, almost dying. Maybe he _had_ been there... Maybe it was Zack who had _not_ been. Maybe it was not Cloud's memories, but Tifa's, that were the problem. After all, it had been Cloud that she had found lying unconscious in the slums so many weeks later. Cloud... Not Zack. She hadn't heard from Zack since. She had no idea if he was even alive... If he had even existed.

Something here just wasn't right... Tifa didn't know what was going on! Everything seemed like a blur, and it confused her and frightened her. It frightened her terribly. It didn't make any sense!

Tifa laid down on the bed and trembled as her tears fell uncontrollably. Where was Cloud? She wanted him here. She wanted him to hold her and to protect her. But when he asked her if she wanted to be alone, she had said yes... And he had respected that. And now she felt more alone than she had ever felt in her life.


	13. Yuffie Kisaragi

**Chapter Twelve: Yuffie Kisaragi**

Cloud woke early the next morning. The room was dark and silent, with the exception of loud snores coming from Barret. Quietly, so as not to wake the others, the mercenary stood up. He could tell the sun outside was shining, because even though the curtain in front of the window blocked it out, some light still managed to shine through the material, and though the room remained dark, it was not an impenetrable darkness. Cloud smiled. It was refreshing, knowing the sun would be visible in the sky when they left the motel. It felt like he hadn't seen the sun in so long.

Cloud looked around the room. This one, like the one they had given Tifa the night before, had two beds. Aeris slept in one while Barret slept on the other. Cloud had offered to take the floor, as Red Thirteen had, for the large cat would be more comfortable on the floor anyway. At the moment they all slept, and Cloud did not want to disturb them.

He carefully picked up his sword, sheathed it onto his back, and walked over to the room's door, where he then quickly stepped outside into the hall. As he was shutting the door quietly behind him, movement to his side caught his attention. He glanced over and saw that Tifa was awake and in the hall with him, shutting her door as well. She glanced at him for a second, then looked down with a small smile. It was hardly the carefree smile that Aeris so often shot his way.

"How are you?" Cloud asked as she turned from him. Her long, beautiful brown hair was loose and wet. Apparently she had recently been in the shower. That wasn't such a bad idea, he thought to himself. But then he wondered at how early she must have gotten up as she stood facing away from him, a cord in her hand, which she then used to bind the ends of hair. With that done, she allowed it to fall down her back and towards the floor past her knees. Cloud knew that she had not cut her hair once, other than to keep it healthy, since her father's death.

"It was nice," she replied in a small voice. "Looking out the window this morning... And seeing the sun and the grass and the plants. I had forgotten that morning was always my favorite part of the day..."

It had been, Cloud remembered. When they had been kids, Tifa had always been up and outside bright and early. Back then, she had always been full of laughter. He gazed at her sadly, wishing that children could never grow up. "How'd you sleep?"

"Very well," she said, sounding slightly surprised by that as she turned to face him. "Even with her in another room, when I actually tried falling asleep, I could sense her. I don't know what it is about Aeris, but I really did feel her last night when I was in bed. And then I could sleep without any nightmares."

"Aeris," Cloud cocked his head. "I didn't have any nightmares last night either. Neither did Barret or Red Thirteen, as far as I can tell. You think it's because she's Cetra?"

Tifa nodded. "Probably." She turned towards the other end of the hall they were in. "Come on, Cloud. I want to walk outside. In the sun..."

Cloud nodded and walked beside her down the hall. But as they reached the corner that would lead into the motel's lobby, Cloud could hear a voice that he thought sounded familiar. Tifa heard it, too, and immediately halted at that corner. Neither of them turned, for they did not want the owner of that voice to know that they were there. After a moment, Cloud finally peeked around and carefully glanced into the lobby.

Standing in front of the reception desk, three figures were speaking to the man behind the counter. Cloud identified two of them immediately. Tseng and Rude from the Turks! The third figure with them was a blonde female who wore a black business dress and sunglasses. It was obvious that she was a Turk as well.

Tseng was the man who had been speaking to the receptionist. "...He would be traveling alone, most likely. Have you seen him?" The receptionist slowly shook his head, clearly in astonishment.

Cloud ducked back into the hallway. He glanced at Tifa, who looked back up at him expectantly. "It's the Turks," he whispered to her. She nodded. From where they stood hidden around the corner, they continued to eavesdrop.

The woman with the Turks spoke in a sharp, intelligent voice. "With all due respect, Tseng, I highly doubt he'd come into a motel. Even a small town one." Cloud peeked around the corner. The three Turks were no longer addressing the receptionist, but standing in a group slightly apart from the poor, terrified man.

Tseng glared at the woman resentfully. "What do _you_ know, Elena? You haven't even been a Turk for two days now!"

Elena scowled. "You don't have to tell _me_ that, sir. I'm just telling you that Sephiroth doesn't sound like the kind of man who would walk into a motel!" Hearing that particular name spoken by the Turks caused Tifa to tense.

"I never said that he was!" Tseng shot back. "All I know is there are reports stating he's headed in this general direction, and motels have things called _windows_!" He pointed towards one in emphasis. "The man could have been seen walking outside of one!" Cloud saw the skeptical look on Elena's face, and had to agree with her that that remark sounded stupid.

"So," Rude wisely decided to step in. "Sephiroth's headed northeast of Midgar. If he keeps heading in that direction, it'll take him right to Junon Harbor."

Tseng nodded. "President Rufus seems to think that that is a very likely possibility. Junon, after all, is a very strategic base of ShinRa's."

Elena frowned. "But what would he want in Junon? I thought he was looking for the Promised Land?"

"If he's looking for it," Tseng shot back. "Then he obviously doesn't know where it is any more than we do! Maybe he thinks we got clues there or something. In any case, you've heard the reports, and we've been given orders, so that's all we can go on right now."

"Um," Elena glanced at Tseng sheepishly. "Just for some clarification... What were we ordered to do... if we actually _were_ to find Sephiroth?" The question seemed to make both Rude and Tseng uneasy. They glanced at each other.

"Nothing," Tseng finally assured her. "We're just scouting. On reconnaissance. Find out where he is, where he's going, and what he wants."

Elena sighed. "Well. That's good." Rude nodded in agreement.

"None of that!" Tseng scolded sharply. "And this is enough! We can't waste any more time here. Move out!" With that said, he turned and walked out of the motel. Rude followed quickly. As for Elena, she was about to follow with more dignity, but then she stopped. Cloud frowned as he watched, but then saw that she was turning around. He quickly ducked back behind the corner and out of sight.

"Elena!" Tseng looked back into the motel. "Are you coming?"

Elena, frowning as she gazed towards the hallway that led to the various motel rooms, carefully nodded her head. Something didn't feel right... But instead of checking it out, she turned back towards Tseng and walked out of the motel.

Cloud and Tifa held their breaths a moment longer, waiting to make sure the Turks were gone. Then Tifa felt her hands close into fists as her body shook slightly. "I _so_ did not need that right now."

Cloud shrugged. "Could have been worse. At least we know where to head next." He looked down at Tifa for a moment, wishing he could cheer her up somehow. "At least that Reno guy wasn't with them." Tifa looked up at her friend with a sour glare. He smiled gently at her, and she sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Stupid Turks." She looked back at Cloud. "It's kind of a big coincidence... They don't even know we're here... They're not even looking for us."

"No," he agreed. "But they are looking for Sephiroth. Like we are." Tifa's body tensed, and she looked away from him. Cloud gently reached for her hand. "Tifa. You're out of Midgar now. You can go wherever you want to. Are you certain you want to come with us?"

She looked up at him. "Where would I go, Cloud? I have no home anymore. No family. You're all that's left of my past." She cocked her head slightly. "And besides... As hard as it is... I want to know what happened five years ago. I wanna know the truth. Just like you do." She needed to know... what was wrong with Cloud's memory... what was wrong with her memory... and how everything fit together, if they fit together at all.

"I just hate seeing you in pain," Cloud told her. Tifa looked down, and before either of them could respond to anything else, a door further down the hall opened and shut. They looked back to see Aeris turning towards them. The girl smiled cheerfully and gracefully made her way down the hall.

"Good morning, you two! Have you seen the sun yet?" But before they could respond, she saw their solemn expressions. She hesitated. "What's the matter?"

Tifa turned completely towards her. "You will never believe what we just heard. Or from whom."

Aeris frowned, and cocked her head in curiosity.

OOOOOOO

Cloud and Tifa waited to relate their new information until after they had returned to Cloud's room and had woken Barret and Red Thirteen. It only took them a few moments, but it completely caught their companions by surprise.

"Damn Turks," Barret grumbled.

Aeris smiled mischievously. "I can't believe Tseng was so close and didn't even realize I was here. It's ironic." Cloud nodded.

"So then," Red Thirteen said sourly. "Are we going to follow them to Junon Harbor and see if Sephiroth is truly headed there?"

"Sounds like the only thing we _can_ do," Aeris stated. She glanced at her companions. "Do any of you know where Junon is, exactly?"

"Yeah," Cloud nodded. "It's an important base for ShinRa. Almost as important as Midgar. I've been there a couple of times."

"All right then!" Aeris said enthusiastically. "Let's get this show on the road!"

OOOOOOO

Though the entire group knew that they were in a hurry, when they walked outside, they were completely overtaken by the freshness of the morning. So instead of walking straight into the truck, they all stood idly by in the street for a couple of minutes.

The town was alive that morning. People were all over the place outside walking in every direction, sometimes talking with each other, sometimes calling after children who were running through a park at play. All of them ignored Cloud and his friends, who were taking in the sky and the sunlight in pure, if only momentary, content.

"This is nice," Aeris said happily as a teenage girl was passing by them. "It's so much better than Midgar."

Cloud and the others were in the process of agreeing when the teenage girl, who had overhead them, stopped short and spun around to face them. Cloud noticed and mentally slapped his own forehead. The girl walked towards them.

"Did you say you were from Midgar?" the girl asked. The entire group turned towards her in surprise, and as they took in her appearance, so too was she taking in theirs. She was a small girl, and young. She couldn't have been older than sixteen. She dressed in black boots, tight brown pants, and a small green shirt that didn't cover her arms or her lower stomach. Around her arms were several silver bands and bracelets, and around her forehead, underneath black bangs, she wore a white headband. Her hair was jet black and pulled up out of her face and onto the back of her head, where it then flowed down her back in two braids. Cloud immediately noticed that she wore a belt, and several Materia were tied to it. He also noticed that tied onto her back was a large weapon. It looked like a four bladed boomerang.

"The hell's it to ya?" Barret demanded after a moment. The girl glanced sideways at him and crossed her arms.

"Well," she said in a rather snobby tone. "_I_ just so happen to have very important business with the ShinRa! They stole Materia from me and I want it back."

"Yeah right," Cloud didn't believe her. "The people of ShinRa can get as much Materia as they want to. They wouldn't waste their time stealing it from girls. Besides, it looks like you've got plenty of Materia." He gestured towards her belt. "They wouldn't go around stealing half of a person's Materia. They'd take all of it."

The girl stared at Cloud in resent. She crossed her arms. "You calling me a liar?" When Cloud nodded she stared at him in offense. "Well fine! Maybe I am! Truth is, ShinRa couldn't steal my Materia even if they wanted to. I'm too strong for them."

"Excuse me," Red Thirteen stepped up towards the girl. She stared down at the creature in surprise, her black eyes growing incredibly wide. The large cat's tail flicked back and forth. "Was there something that you wanted?"

"Wow," the girl said slowly. "You can talk!" She grinned. "That's cool."

"I think he asked a very good question!" Barret snapped. "We're kinda in a hurry here!"

The girl looked at the much larger black man skeptically. "Right. 'Cause you're all just standing around town sunbathing, that it?" She stepped forward. "Seriously, though! You're all from Midgar? I heard they had powerful Materia there! Is that true?"

Cloud and his friends all glanced at each other in confusion. Tifa frowned and looked back at the girl. "Midgar isn't any place for kids. It's dangerous there."

"Not to mention incredibly far away," Aeris added. "Would your parents even let you go there?"

The girl stared at Aeris in even more offense. "My _parents?_ Not like they care. I don't even live in Kalm." She glanced at Tifa. "And I'm not a kid!"

Cloud crossed his arms, growing impatient. "We don't have time for this."

"So make it quick and easy," the girl suggested. "I just want to find powerful Materia! Is it likely that I'll find any in Midgar?"

"Look, kid!" Barret cut in, raising his voice. "When we left Midgar, it was in a mess! Forget Materia, you do _not_ wanna go there!"

The girl pouted. Cloud rolled his eyes at that and turned away from her. Red Thirteen and Tifa followed suit. But before Barret or Aeris could, the girl was suddenly at the Cetra's side, pulling on her arm like a little kid.

"Please! Please!" she whined, effectively making the good natured Aeris smile. She turned thoughtfully towards the teenager.

"Why are you looking for Materia?" Aeris asked, causing the rest of her friends to turn back towards her in exasperation. The girl grinned.

"It's very important to my family," she said. "I have taken up a quest! To find Materia and bring it to my home!" She glanced mischievously at Cloud. "So. If there isn't any in Midgar, than perhaps smart people _from_ Midgar like you folks could point me in the right direction."

"Sure," Cloud offered, walking back towards her and pointing in the first random direction his arm lifted towards.

The girl hopped on her feet, feigning irritation. "I said the _right_ direction!"

"Oh," Cloud feigned contrition. "Pardon me." He turned his arm so that he was pointing to his right. This time, the girl let out an actual wail of exasperation, during which Aeris laughed out loud, clearly amused.

"That's it!" the girl's head spun around and focused on their truck. "That yours?"

"No," Cloud said right as Aeris nodded her head. The girl grinned and without warning bolted towards it. She opened the door on the driver's side and hopped up onto the seat behind the wheel.

"Hey!" Barret shouted as he chased after her. "Get your little teenaged ah... butt outta there!" When he reached the driver's side of the truck, he spun around and angrily faced her as Cloud and the others approached, each of them annoyed, with the exception of Aeris, who was in fact amused.

"It's okay," the girl told Barret, not the least bit fazed by his size compared to hers. "You can swear in front of me. I'm a big girl."

"A big irritation is more like it!" Barret shot back. "Listen kid! You may be on some quest ta find Materia, but _we're_ on a different quest! One where kids can't be causing non-stop trouble!"

"I wouldn't be trouble," the girl told him with a shrug. "Not that I even wanted to go with you guys in the first place. I just wanted some real directions!" She smirked. "But now that you mention it, maybe I _would_ like to tag along."

"Ain't gonna happen!" Barret spat. "Get outta the truck!"

"Just let her have it," Red Thirteen advised. "I don't believe Junon could possibly be that far. We can walk."

"Oh," the girl said cheerfully. "You all are going to Junon Harbor? I've _always_ wanted to go there!"

"I'd advise you wait a few months," Cloud told her, shooting Red Thirteen an unhappy glare. "It's gonna be dangerous pretty soon."

"Excellent!" the girl beamed. "People in dangerous situations _always_ have Materia on hand! I'll be sure to find plenty there!"

"That's it," Cloud glanced at Barret. "You think there's any rope in that truck?"

"What cha gonna do?" the girl demanded boldly. "Tie me up somewhere in broad daylight in the middle of a town like this one? I bet the townies here would simply go for that!"

Aeris agreed. "We can't tie her up, Cloud."

"Sure we can," Tifa argued. She glanced at Cloud. "We can always take her with us out of the town and tie her up in some field with a really, really tight gag!" Cloud nodded.

The girl frowned. "You wouldn't do that!"

"Wanna bet?" Cloud replied coldly.

"Well," the girl hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Sure, you could _try_. But it would never happen. I know more about ropes and knots than any of you guys could _hope_ to learn in your lifetimes."

"She's really cocky, isn't she?" Red Thirteen asked glumly.

"Forget this!" Barret turned around. "We ain't no baby sitters! Let's just walk!"

"Do we really have the time?" Tifa asked uncertainly.

"We'll make the time," Cloud replied sourly. "And if she gets out to follow, we'll just shove her aside and get back in the truck."

"Oh, no, no, no," the girl shook her head. "I don't have ta get outta the truck to follow you guys!"

"Sure you do," Barret argued. "Truck don't got no keys in its ignition. Won't even start."

"I'll make it start," the girl replied. She turned away from them then, popped something open and messed with the wires. A moment later, the truck started. She turned towards them in cheerful glee. "There! I hotwired it!" She glared at Cloud challengingly. "So. You can walk or get in the car with me driving. But just to warn you, it would look really funny to have a truck driving slowly behind you guys if you choose to walk. You'd probably all really stand out."

"That's it!" Barret shouted impatiently. He lifted his machine gun of an arm and aimed at one of the tires.

"Barret!" Tifa said, rather threateningly. "We don't have time to walk!"

Barret glanced at her and sighed, lowering his arm as he grumbled under his breath. "Stupid kids."

"Look, guys," Aeris cut in, always ready to be diplomatic. "We're in a hurry, right? Let's just put up with her for now and ditch her along the way." Cloud and the others all looked like they were ready to object, but they couldn't think of how to do so. The girl grinned triumphantly.

OOOOOOO

Time found the teenager driving the truck down a small road that led towards Junon Harbor. The truck itself was a large one, with both front seats and back seats. Aeris was sitting with the girl up front while the rest of the group had piled into the back. And while those in the back looked completely and utterly miserable, the two girls up front seemed to be enjoying themselves.

"So," Aeris said, glancing over at the girl in good humor. "What's your name?"

The girl glanced at Aeris with a smirk. "I'm Yuffie. Yuffie Kisaragi."


	14. The Nightmare of a Scientist

**Chapter Thirteen: The Nightmare of a Scientist**

**(Some Thirty-Five Years Ago...)**

_It was growing dark outside the town of Nibelheim. Night was approaching, and of course, that also meant dinner. Dr. Hojo had prepared a large tray of a fantastic dish he had picked up from his dear friend and colleague, Professor Gast. Now, he was carrying it up the stairs of the Shinra Mansion and down the hall towards his bedroom, where he was almost certain to find Lucrecia. Every night he brought her dinner like this. A man like Hojo would not very likely ever take a woman like Lucrecia for granted. He loved her too much. And, since their marriage almost a year ago, they had conceived a child, and it was, like a miracle, growing healthily inside Lucrecia's womb. To Hojo, every night was a night to celebrate... For this was one dream that had most certainly come true for him._

_But as he approached the room he shared with Lucrecia, he frowned as the door was shut tightly against him. That was odd. Lucrecia knew he always came upstairs with a tray for them to share... And she always left the door open._

_Hojo walked quietly towards it, but before he could tap it with his foot, he heard a voice inside. The voice belonged to a man he knew... It belonged to that Turk..._

_"Do you want me to apologize?"_

_"It's not that easy." The voice belonged to Lucrecia. Hojo frowned. He knew that the two of them were friends. Had they gotten into an argument?_

_"No..." the Turk, Vincent, sounded sad. There was a pause for a moment. Hojo knew he should respect their friendship and come back later, but the next words caught his attention, and he could not bring himself to leave. "What happened, Lucrecia? Where did we go wrong?"_

_"We didn't go wrong," Lucrecia snapped back. "You went wrong, Vincent. You left me all those years ago. You didn't even say goodbye."_

_"I left you a letter-"_

_"A letter! Of course! That makes it all right then!"_

_"Your father didn't want us together!" Vincent snapped back. "You were the daughter of a rich man! I was poor. Your father was a man of class and society and I was not fit to court his daughter. So I did the only thing I could to earn that right."_

_"You decided to become a Turk!" Lucrecia acknowledged. "Gain a reputation and some money so that you could come back and sweep me off my feet, is that it? Well I hate to tell you, Vincent, but time passed! My father sent me to school! I became a scientist! And I found someone who loves me and who would never just forget about me!"_

_"I did this for you, Lucrecia! I thought about you every minute that I was gone! You were the one who forgot me!"_

_"I never knew where you were!" Lucrecia told him. "I didn't have anywhere to write you! You could have written me, but you never even sent one letter past the one that told me you were leaving! And you know what? When I found that letter I had just had an argument with father! I told him that I wasn't going to listen to him! That I would be with whom I wanted to be with! If you had just waited one more day, than we would have been together whether he had liked it or not!"_

_"... I'm so sorry."_

_"When I came crawling back home that night, my father was the happiest man in the world, and I was the most miserable," Lucrecia went on. "It took years for me to get past that. Even when I had been sent off to school, do you think I was happy? I missed you with every fiber of my soul, and I had no way of knowing if you were even alive. Then I met Hojo. And he helped me heal from that. My father approved of him, and we were married. I am due to have a child in less than a month! And then you come waltzing back into my life a month ago because President Shinra feels that a project as crucial as the Jenova Project deserves additional security! Sorry isn't going to cut it, Vincent!"_

_"What else am I supposed to do?" Vincent demanded. "You belong to someone else now, Lucrecia. I have no right to do anything _but_ apologize. And if that isn't enough, all I can do is apologize for that, too!"_

_There was silence for a moment. As Hojo listened, he realized that his hands were shaking. The tray he was holding was shaking. The moment passed._

_"You can tell me that you still love me," Lucrecia said in a gentler voice. There was another moment. And then that moment passed._

_"I never stopped loving you, Lucrecia," Vincent told her._

_"And I never stopped loving you," Lucrecia replied. Hojo's hands trembled with more violence. Lucrecia continued. "I love you, still."_

_The tray fell from Hojo's hands and crashed on the floor. He stumbled backwards and collided heavily against the far wall of the hallway. Another moment passed in which the bedroom door opened and Lucrecia and Vincent both peered outside. When Lucrecia saw Hojo standing there, her face paled._

_"Oh, no," she shook her head with tears falling down her face. "Hojo, how much did you hear?" He couldn't answer her. He turned and fled down the hall as quickly as he could._

_OOOOOOO_

_When Lucrecia found Hojo, he was in a darkened laboratory in the basement of the Shinra Mansion. She turned the light on and walked towards him. He was huddled on the floor, and though she was so pregnant, she still managed to sit on the floor beside him._

_For a moment, there was silence. Then Hojo glanced at her with tears in his eyes. "Tell me. How long have you two known each other?"_

_"All our lives," Lucrecia said. "I know you heard me say I loved him, Hojo, but please understand... I was just a kid when he left. What he put me through... Those feelings don't just disappear with time."_

_"I remember first meeting you," Hojo said. "You were always so sad." He shook his head and looked away. "Did you fall in love with me because I was the first person who showed an interest in you after he hurt you?"_

_"Of course not, Hojo," she told him earnestly. "I love you. And I love the baby growing inside of me that you fathered."_

_"You have to understand," he replied, staring at the floor. "I am not naïve. I know I am not many things. I am not a great scientist like Professor Gast. I never will be. And there's so many other things... I could never be strong or handsome like Vincent... I'm not the kind of man women normally flock to. I'm not brave. In times of crisis, I freak out. I'm not that reliable. There is so much that I cannot measure up to. So... when I married you... A woman like you, Lucrecia! Even at the altar, I wondered how a woman like you could love me when I was so unworthy of you. You are the one thing in my life that had any meaning at all. The only thing that made me feel like I wasn't completely worthless. So a part of me has always feared that someday, a man like Vincent might come..."_

_"And what?" Lucrecia demanded. "A man like Vincent might come and take me away from you? Is that it? Is that the kind of woman you think I am?"_

_"That's the kind of woman I heard in our bedroom who was speaking with a Turk!" Hojo shot back. Lucrecia gazed at him in such a way that he felt like he had slapped her, and it made him feel ill._

_"How can I prove to you how sorry I am?" Lucrecia asked him. He gazed into her eyes._

_"Prove that you will never leave me," he suggested. For a moment, Lucrecia did not answer him, or respond in any way. But then, she took in her surroundings, took in the laboratory where they had spent so much time in with Professor Gast during the Jenova Project. And her eyes took in some test tubes._

_"Are those Jenova cells?" she asked. Hojo nodded. Lucrecia stood up and walked over towards a test tube. She took one and then found a syringe. Pouring the Jenova cells into the syringe, she then proceeded to inject it into her womb._

_"Lucrecia!" Hojo shouted, jumping to his feet. "What are you doing?" She turned to him._

_"I give myself, and my baby, to you," she told him before the cells took effect. Suddenly faint, she collapsed. Hojo shouted and ran to her side. He held her unconscious body in his arms, all the while shouting for help._

_OOOOOOO_

_Jenova. An Ancient? No... They found out later that Jenova was not an Ancient like they had first assumed. Jenova was something much worse. A monster. So. When Lucrecia injected herself with Jenova cells, she thought she was putting the cells of an Ancient into her body. There could be nothing wrong with that, could there? The Ancients were pure and good and true... But Jenova was not an Ancient. Jenova was a monster. When Professor Gast relayed that information to Dr. Hojo, the man's heart broke, and his mind slowly began to deteriorate._

_OOOOOOO_

_Lucrecia screamed. The day had come for her to deliver her child. A child that had Jenova cells in his body. Like she did. And only two men were with her at the time. Dr. Hojo and Professor Gast, who was helping her with her delivery. But it was a painful one._

_"Keep pushing!" Gast was encouraging the woman. Hojo stood off to the side, feeling, as usual, useless. And Lucrecia kept screaming. Gast encouraged, and she pushed. _

_But as she screamed, a name pushed past her lips. "Vincent!" She screamed that name, over and over again, with tears falling down her face as she laboriously delivered her baby. Hojo's eyes clenched shut, and he looked away, and paid no attention even as the child came into the world, and then was taken away by ShinRa scientists who had been ordered to study the effects of the Jenova cells inside his body._

_OOOOOOO_

_It was dark in Hojo's room. He sat alone in the darkness. Depression ate away at him. He could not bear it. He could not bear any of it. His son was to be a science specimen. And his wife was in love with another man. A man whom Hojo could never even hope to compete with. So he sat in the darkness... A gun in his hands._

_At that moment, the door burst open. Hojo jumped to his feet and spun around. Vincent was in the room with him, and he looked extremely upset._

_"How could you not have told us..." Vincent hesitated when he saw the gun Hojo held. But then he ignored it, and asked his question again. "How could you not have told us that Jenova was not an Ancient? That it is a monster?"_

_"It's been tearing me inside!" Hojo assured the Turk._

_"Tearing _you_ inside?" Vincent demanded. "That _thing_'s cells are inside Lucrecia and her baby! Does that mean nothing to you?"_

_"What do you think?" Hojo demanded, waving his gun in the Turk's face. Vincent's expression darkened._

_"So you're planning on shooting yourself?" he asked. "Is that going to solve all your problems? What about Lucrecia's problems?"_

_"Apparently she'd be better off without me," Hojo spat bitterly. "She has you. And you're the one that she truly wants."_

_"She wants a family," Vincent told the man. "Have the two of you even given your son a name yet? Have you even _seen_ him together, the two of you, alone?"_

_"No," Hojo replied. "And the way things are going, we will never be given that chance."_

_"Not like this you won't," Vincent agreed. He stepped towards Hojo. "Give me the gun."_

_Hojo spun around and aimed it at Vincent. His hands trembled as he cocked the weapon. "Stay the hell away from me!"_

_"Give me the gun!" Vincent repeated, rushing towards it. In a panic, Hojo fired the gun. The bullet rushed straight through Vincent. The Turk stopped short, his blood covering his body, the walls, and the floor. A moment later, he was on the floor. He did not move, and did not even seem to be alive._

_Trembling, Hojo fell to his knees. And that was when the scientist truly fell victim to his own insanity._

_OOOOOOO_

_Several nights later, Vincent's eyes suddenly snapped open. From where Hojo stood on the other side of the laboratory, he could hear the Turk suck in a desperate breath of air. The scientist smiled and turned towards his newest subject._

_Vincent appeared to be in a panic. His eyes were wide and he was breathing heavily. He was strapped tightly down onto a bed in the hidden laboratory of the basement of the Shinra Mansion. Hojo walked over to him, almost gleefully. "I see you're awake."_

_Vincent stared at him, his body shaking on the bed. "What's going on?" He was slowly realizing how effective his restraints were. "Hojo?"_

_"President Shinra was most interested in the report given to him last week," Hojo quietly informed the Turk. "About the progress of the Jenova Project. Yes. It was unfortunate. Jenova proved not to be an Ancient after all. But the world will never know that. We have declared Jenova was an Ancient. And, officially, it's been proven."_

_Fear was beginning to form in Vincent's eyes. "I don't understand... Lucrecia!"_

_"Dead, now," Hojo told the Turk. Vincent's eyes widened even more in shock, and he shook his head in disbelief. But Hojo nodded. "It was most tragic, the president agreed. When you arrived in Nibelheim, almost two months ago by now, Lucrecia realized she had never stopped loving you. And when you died, she realized she couldn't bear life without you. So she delivered her baby, and told Professor Gast and I that we were to use the child in our experiments, for the Jenova Project's success was the one thing she wanted, and the child was the last contribution she made to the project before she killed herself. Only then was the child injected with Jenova cells. And that is how it has happened up until now."_

_"You're lying!" Vincent shouted in anger. He struggled against his restraints, but to no avail. Hojo only shook his head in sympathy. Vincent shouted in frustration. "What happened to you, Hojo? I thought you loved her! How could you do this to her? How could you?"_

_"And that isn't even the cover story," Hojo went on to say. "Officially, the child's mother was named Jenova. In the official reports, Lucrecia's name will not even be mentioned. And neither will yours."_

_"Hojo!" Vincent stared at the scientist in despair. "That's fine. Lie to the world as much as you want to! But tell me the truth! What happened to Lucrecia?"_

_"It no longer matters," Hojo informed him. "You should not worry about her, Vincent. And neither should you worry about Sephiroth... that's the name of her child, don't you know. You should be worrying about yourself."_

_"Do what you want," Vincent told the scientist in misery. "My life is over now."_

_"Oh, no," Hojo shook his head. "You are wrong about that, Vincent. Your life is just beginning." He smiled as he held up a syringe._

_Vincent stared at it in alarm. "Hojo...? What are you doing?"_

_"I failed as a scientist," Hojo told the Turk with a twisted smile on his face. "And I failed as a husband and as a father. But there is one option left open to me..." When Vincent did not respond, Hojo continued. "I can always play the part of the mad scientist. And you... You, Vincent, shall become the terrible monster that I shall create."_

OOOOOOO

**(Present Time...)**

In the darkness of his room, Hojo jerked awake with a silent cry of anguish bottled up inside his throat. He couldn't bear it! It had ended five years ago! Sephiroth had died and those two boys had disappeared into nothing! Hojo had finally been free of all of that! He had been able to move on! And now...

Sephiroth was alive again. So many people at ShinRa Headquarters had been slain by him as he had stolen Jenova out of the laboratory. And not only that! But now that Hojo thought about it, there had been something very familiar about that boy who had rescued Aeris that night...

Hojo trembled as he stepped out of his bed and turned on a lamp. He felt weak and cold, but mostly vulnerable... Haunted by his most nightmarish of memories. Vincent... Lucrecia... Thirty-five years ago... And then Sephiroth! And five years ago... And now all of it was returning without any warning!

_Can't the past just die...?_ Of course it could. Hojo ran over to his phone and picked it up. He quickly dialed a phone number he had memorized long ago. "... This is Dr. Hojo! I have an important message for the President! ... Yes! I can give it to you! ... Fine, just make sure he receives it! ... Good. Tell him I'm done. Through. I quit. I retire. I never want to hear from him or anyone else at ShinRa ever again!"

With that, Hojo slammed off his phone and ran to find his suitcase. He would have to pack and leave town as quickly as humanly possible.


	15. A New Recruit

**Chapter Fourteen: A New Recruit**

It was reaching dusk as Yuffie drove the truck down the road that had, over the course of the day, steadily branched into a much larger, more congested highway. As Aeris and the teenager happily chatted away, apparently oblivious to everything around them, Cloud had meanwhile been staring past them out the windshield in some concern. With all this traffic, he figured they needed to get off the road and soon.

They had entered a forest that Cloud knew grew by the coast, and were driving down one of the rare stretches of road that had no oncoming traffic. The mercenary suddenly leaned into the front portion of the truck, catching everyone's attention. "Pull off the road. Make sure you park the truck somewhere where it's not visible."

Yuffie glanced at him for a second before complying. Grinning like a maniac, she swerved off the road, causing everyone in the back aside from Cloud, who had kept a firm balance, to practically fall out of their seats. Cloud managed to grab hold of Tifa and keep her upright as Yuffie swerved the truck a second time. Barret was swearing loudly as Aeris laughed, apparently enjoying herself.

With a few more swerves, Yuffie had driven far off the road, managing to dodge trees and shrubs until they were a decent stretch into the woods, well out of sight from the road. Yuffie parked the truck and grinned malevolently at Aeris, who smiled back with equal mischievousness.

"The _hell_ was that?" Barret demanded angrily, violently pushing his way out of the truck. "Ya trying to get us all killed?"

Yuffie turned defensively towards him. "I was doing what Cloud asked me to do! I had to do it quickly, or someone would've come along down the road and seen!" Her face relaxed and she smiled at him. "You're probably just jealous that I'm such a talented driver."

"Wouldn't count on it!" Barret shot back as Red Thirteen hopped lightly out of the truck. Aeris followed with Cloud and Tifa. Yuffie remained sitting in front of the wheel, as if hesitant to get out. She glanced nervously at Cloud and Tifa, who were looking at each other in annoyance.

"Where's that rope now?" Tifa asked.

Cloud turned towards Aeris. "I can't believe you told her what our names were." Aeris smiled back in such a bright demeanor that the mercenary found he couldn't bring himself to hold a grudge against the Cetra. She was just too innocent.

"You don't have to worry, Yuffie," Aeris told the teenager. "No one's gonna tie you up or anything. We're in the middle of the woods, so I guess we've got a responsibility to see you safely out of them."

"Considering who we're hoping to find in Junon," Red Thirteen grumbled. "If we were worried about any responsibilities we'd have towards the girl, we should have left her in Kalm where she'd be safe."

"What do you mean?" Yuffie asked as she jumped out of the truck and walked around towards them. "Who are you guys looking for?"

"A man named Sephiroth," Aeris told Yuffie openly. Everyone, including the teenager, stared at Aeris in stunned shock.

"Hey, girl!" Barret took a small step towards the Cetra. "I don' think it's a very good idea for ya to be telling everyone we meet who we're looking for."

Aeris smiled gently. "I don't plan to, Barret. But Yuffie isn't 'everyone'." She glanced at the teenager brightly. "She's okay. I trust her." Yuffie suddenly blushed and looked away.

"This Sephiroth guy," the girl turned towards Cloud, trying to change the subject. "Is he the legendary Sephiroth? The hero who died?"

"He's not dead," Cloud replied calmly. "So you've heard of him?"

"Of course I've heard of him," Yuffie's voice turned bitter, and she glowered at the mercenary resentfully. "I grew up in Wutai."

Everyone in the group stared at Yuffie in surprised enlightenment. Wutai... Aside from Red Thirteen and Aeris, they had all heard the Cetra's adopted mother, Elmyra, tell them about her husband's death, and how it had happened during the war in Wutai. But even though neither the large cat nor Aeris had been present at the time, both of them knew all about the Midgar-Wutai War, and how Sephiroth had led the ShinRa army, defeated his enemies in Wutai, and had become a hero.

None of them had considered for a moment that Yuffie might have had a horrific childhood herself. This sudden knowledge made them all look at the teenager in a new way. Growing up in Wutai during a war... Sure, she had to have been very young at the time... But the most lasting scars are often the ones inflicted upon children. Anything she might have seen or gone through... she could still be healing from, even if she hid her pain underneath all her enthusiasm.

"I'm... very sorry," Aeris told the girl. "I didn't... mean..."

"Forget it," Yuffie waved a hand at the Cetra in dismissal. "I'm cool with it. I don't even remember half of it, I was so young. My father shielded me from it pretty successfully. But you know... even if I don't remember... Wutai does. That's one reason why I'm searching for Materia... but..." She glanced at Cloud. "I wouldn't mind facing Sephiroth myself. Prove to him that he didn't break the spirit of Wutai."

"You want to defeat Sephiroth to reclaim the honor of your home?" Cloud stared at the teenager with a frown. "I doubt you'd succeed."

Yuffie's face reddened slightly. "I'm not a weak child! I can handle something like this just fine!"

"The reason _we're _looking for Sephiroth doesn't concern you in the least," Cloud shot back. "And even if you're not a weak child, Sephiroth isn't, either. He would beat you."

"I'm coming with you, anyway," Yuffie told him stubbornly. "No matter what you think, I'm gonna find Sephiroth!"

"A minute ago you didn't even know he was alive," Tifa cut in gently. "Shouldn't you at least think about this for a little bit? Instead of just making some rash decision that could affect the rest of your life?"

Yuffie glanced at her sharply, as if to make some snappy retort, but then she hesitated, and thought for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was soft. "I don't know any of you very well. I can't possibly know why you're looking for Sephiroth. But... maybe you would understand. My home is a mess 'cause of him. My father... The war did a horrible thing that left some serious scars. As a kid I used to dream about... being stronger and being able to go back in time so that I could have made a difference." She paused for a moment, and they could all see her confession was difficult on her. She glanced at Cloud. "I know I'm younger than the rest of you. But I'm not weak. If Sephiroth really is alive, and I can do anything that might be able to help stop him from hurting anyone else... than there isn't anything for me to think about. There isn't anything to consider. I have to do it. This isn't a rash decision for me. It isn't even a decision. It's a need.

"Besides," she set her mouth in determination and glared at her companions with renewed fervor. "I'll still follow even if you don't take me, so since our goals are the same, letting me tag along is really the only logical choice."

Cloud frowned. "What makes you think our goals are the same?"

At that, Yuffie hesitated, and glanced at Cloud with her first hint of uncertainty. "Wait... I didn't just pour my guts out to a bunch of Sephiroth worshipers chasing after him for autographs... did I?"

"Of course you didn't," Aeris replied quickly, glaring at Cloud. The mercenary shrugged.

Yuffie brightened. "Good."

"But..." Barret was looking back and forth between Aeris and Yuffie and Cloud. His gaze rested on the mercenary. "We ain't seriously gonna consider letting her come with us... are we?"

"Well," Cloud shrugged. "She does have a point. We can't stop her from following us. The least we can do is try keeping an eye on her."

Yuffie grinned.

But Cloud wasn't finished. He glared at her sternly. "But you have to at least _pretend_ to listen to us. Sephiroth's dangerous, and if you want to help, that's fine. But by helping, I mean by doing what you're told when you're told."

"Sure," Yuffie nodded. "I don't have a problem with that... so long as you don't send me away or go outta your way to protect me. I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself."

Cloud nodded. "That's good to know."

Tifa was frowning, and her arms were crossed as well. She glanced at Cloud. "Are you sure about this?"

He turned towards her with a shrug. "No."

"This is just perfect," Barret was grumbling. "It ain't like we don't got enough problems on our hands! Last thing we's need is a stupid kid out for family honor."

Red Thirteen glanced at Barret in slight irritation. "There are worse things than family honor." It was apparent to everyone that Red held such honor in high regard. For a moment, no one spoke.

"Come on," Cloud finally turned and began walking through the forest. "Junon is still another few miles this way. We got a long way to go." Tifa and Red Thirteen followed, with Aeris and Yuffie walking after them side by side. Only Barret hesitated, but a moment later he followed too, grumbling unhappily to himself for most of the way.


	16. Junon Harbor's Warm Welcome

**Chapter Fifteen: Junon Harbor's Warm Welcome**

Junon Harbor was a military base under the command of ShinRa Inc. It was built on the coast of a rather small ocean that was bordered by a forest. Originally, long ago, Junon had been a small coastal town. The town itself still existed... the actual city was build on a plate constructed over the town, much like Midgar on an extremely small scale... there was only one plate in Junon, unlike the several that made up the larger city.

Cloud himself had been in Junon several times as a member of SOLDIER. A lot of his missions used to start out or end there. Whenever there were big missions to sign up for, members of SOLDIER signed up in Junon Harbor. That was the way it had always been, so Cloud was a little apprehensive of going there... He didn't want to think about the memories that being in the city might bring back to him...

As the group drew near to the outskirts of the forest, Cloud paused and faced his companions. They turned towards him attentively, and he spoke to them. "Okay. Junon's actually two places in one. The military city on top of the plate, and the small fishing town underneath. If there's gonna be any action, it's gonna be on top. So if we wanna sneak in, we should probably choose a route that goes through the town first. To get in quietly and easily."

Yuffie frowned. "What? No busting through the front door with weapons raised?"

"Nope," Barret replied coolly. "We already did that. Can't say it ended particularly well." He glanced at Cloud. "But I've done the sneaking in thing, before, too. Ya sure they don't got no cameras in the town? Ya sure it's possible getting in quietly?"

"Cameras?" Yuffie, Red Thirteen, and Aeris all glanced at Barret in confusion. After all, _they_ hadn't been caught in the Midgar ventilators.

"Long story," Tifa informed them before glancing back at Cloud. "What do you think?"

"I don't think they're looking for us," Cloud replied. "I think they're looking for Sephiroth."

"What if they're looking for us, too?" Red Thirteen asked, his tail flicking back and forth in slight concern.

"The people living in the fishing town don't like ShinRa too much," Cloud stated calmly. "I doubt there will be cameras. It would cause too much all around trouble. I doubt they'd even hide them. If the people were to discover hidden cameras in the town, ShinRa would have a lot of angry people to try consoling."

"ShinRa knows how to console?" Tifa asked in soft bitterness. Everyone glanced at her, and she felt from them, aside from Yuffie, their sympathy. From Yuffie she sensed curiosity. She felt her body tense, and wanting to get away from it all, she walked past Cloud and towards the harbor. "And here I would have thought they'd just drop a plate on any town that gets too rebellious."

OOOOOOO

As the group slid unnoticed into the small town underneath the city of Junon, practically the first thing that caught their attention was a man wandering the streets not far from them calling out a name at the top of his lungs. He was a relatively old man, tiny and bent, and appeared more irritated than anything else. Cloud guessed his little shouting display wasn't that uncommon, as his calls seemed to be ignored by everyone else who was still outside in the town at such a late hour.

Tifa shivered as she followed her friends towards the elderly man. The fishing town reminded her in so many ways of Midgar. Though the ground was made of earth and stone, and the buildings and homes were small and warmly lit, unlike Midgar, several other features brought back memories of the hellish city to her. The street lights, for example, fluorescently lit even at night like they were in Midgar. And especially the plate above her head... It was just like the hell she had lived in and had hoped to have had escaped from. Perhaps Hell really was impossible to leave behind.

As she thought of these things, the old man who had been calling the name "Priscilla" suddenly noticed them approach. He turned towards them in surprise. "Who are all of you...?" He noticed Red Thirteen and his face paled.

"It's okay," Cloud assured the man, who looked up at him and immediately noticed the mercenary's glowing eyes.

"SOLDIER..." the old man breathed, drawing away from Cloud as if the man suffered from some contagion.

"No," Barret stepped forward, sparing Cloud one irritated look before turning back towards the old man. "You got it all wrong. We're fighting against the ShinRa."

Yuffie crossed her arms and glared at Barret in contempt. "Now who's telling everyone all our secrets?"

"Yuffie," Aeris glared at the girl. "Be nice." With that said, the Cetra stepped up beside Cloud and Barret. She smiled at the man, whose face immediately softened at the sight of her. "Really, sir. You don't have to be afraid of us. We're trying not to draw too much attention to ourselves."

The man glanced from Aeris to Cloud, and then to Barret's machine gun of an arm, and then to Red Thirteen. "Good luck with that."

Aeris had to admit he had a point. Their little group was hardly inconspicuous. She nodded before changing the subject. "So who's Priscilla?"

"Priscilla," the irritation returned to the old man's eyes. "She's my grand niece. And she always does this, too."

"Does what?" Tifa asked.

"Run around at night to play," the man explained unhappily. "She doesn't ever come when she's called. Only ten years old and she doesn't realize how dangerous it is in Junon."

"Do you want us to help you find her?" Cloud asked. The man shot the mercenary a suspicious glare, for nothing in Junon ever came without a price.

"Why?" he demanded. "What do you want?"

"Just information," Cloud assured the old man. "We're looking for someone, too. If we help you find your niece, the only thing we'd want in return is for you to tell us whether or not you've seen him."

The old man considered it for a moment, then nodded. "Sure. Sounds reasonable enough."

But before any actual deal could be finalized, a scream cut through the darkness. Everyone outside in the town heard it and turned towards it in surprised alarm. Without any hesitation, Cloud, Tifa, and Red Thirteen tore after it, with a surprised Barret, Yuffie, and Aeris close behind. The old man hastened to wobble after them.

The cry had come from the beach, a small portion of the town that was covered in gray black sand. The water, even at nighttime, looked polluted and disgusting and there was a funny smell in the air that made them, especially Yuffie and Red Thirteen – who had a keen sense for smell – gag.

When the group reached the beach, they immediately noticed a large monster from the water towering over a frightened girl. She was the one who had screamed, and Cloud guessed that she was the missing Priscilla who liked to play outside after dark. She was on the ground staring up at the monster in pure fear.

The creature dove towards her. She screamed again, covering her head with her arms. Cloud ran straight towards her, pulling out his sword. Right as the creature was about to devour Priscilla, Cloud appeared in-between the two, with his sword raised. The creature fell against it, and as blood appeared around them, the monster recoiled, hurt but still alive and now in a fury. It backed away from Cloud and made to come at him again with deadly intent.

Barret and Yuffie both paused some distance away from Cloud and the monster. Barret fired several rounds of bullets at the monster as Yuffie slung off her four-bladed boomerang from her back and expertly threw it towards the creature. The boomerang flew through the air, turned, and slashed the monster across its shoulder, spilling more blood, before it returned to Yuffie. The girl caught it with graceful ease and a smirk.

Meanwhile, the old man and several other town folk had arrived on the beach and watched in amazement. They had all seen sea monsters before... But none of them had seen a group like this one work together to fight one off, and all for a child! Their mouths had all practically dropped open against the ground.

Aeris raced towards the girl and fell to her knees beside her. She wrapped her arms around Priscilla, ready to shield her from anything. Tifa and Red Thirteen, meanwhile, had headed straight towards the monster to attack at closer range.

As the monster swung round deadly tentacles, Tifa and Red dodged with grace and ease that seemed natural to both of them. Red Thirteen slashed at the monster with his sharp, lethal claws, every now and then going in for a quick bite. Tifa pummeled it with her fists, sometimes jumping into powerful spinning roundhouses or drop kicks. Her moves were as quick as lightning and as powerful as fire. The monster fell back from them, heading towards the water.

But then Cloud, jumping high up into the air, came crashing down upon the monster with his sword in hand. The blade pierced through the creature's body like a knife through butter. In almost an instant, the monster was slain, his body lying on the sandy, bloody ground.

Cloud, Tifa, and Red Thirteen, all of whom were standing over the slain beast, glanced at each other glumly before turning to face inland. Barret and Yuffie were walking towards them, though Aeris still remained at the side of the frightened child. Everyone else who lived in the Junon fishing town were standing deadly still, staring at the group in open mouthed amazement.

"Well," Yuffie said cheerfully as she swung her boomerang back onto its place on her back. "That was quite the warm welcome, wasn't it?"

Cloud nodded as the crowd slowly overcame their shock. The old man whom they had already met was already running towards Aeris and Priscilla. Cloud and the others slowly approached the woman and child as well.

The girl in Aeris's arms was deathly pale and her body still shivered in the cold, disgusting air... But she didn't look frightened any longer. More startled than anything else, and she didn't look hurt, either. The old man fell to his knees beside the two, gently taking Priscilla into his arms, but still not too far from Aeris, who somehow seemed able to make them both feel some sort of comfort.

"Priscilla," the man was practically in tears. "What on earth were you thinking? You could have been killed! I've told you not to play outside after dark!"

"Sorry," Priscilla whispered. She appeared to be exhausted. "But... I wanted... to see Mr. Dolphin..." Tifa and the others frowned at that comment. The girl had glanced at Cloud, and his was the last face she saw before exhaustion overwhelmed her and she fell unconscious in her uncle's arms.

Tifa walked up to Cloud and touched his arm. "Are there dolphins off the coast of Junon?" He glanced at her in bafflement.

"Not that I know of," he whispered. "It's hard to believe... Junon is a fishing town, sure, but _dolphins_?"

"Yep," the man turned towards Cloud and Tifa, having heard their whispered words. "But only one. He comes here often... for Priscilla, it would seem." The man looked down at the girl in his arms, then looked back up at Cloud. "I'm an old man, friend. I can't carry her back home... Would you for me?"

Cloud spun towards the man in surprise. "What...? Me?" He couldn't remember when he had last carried a child... If he had _ever_ carried a child. The idea definitely caught him off guard.

The man nodded. "For what you've done... I'll give you all a place to spend the night, a place to bathe, and a place to eat." He stared at their blood-soaked, sweaty bodies, and wondered if they would refuse.

"Damn," Barret said, but in a pleased tone. It was obvious that the offer made to them was too good to refuse.

OOOOOOO

Later that night, after they had all showered and surrendered their clothes to an elderly woman who promised to clean them, Cloud rested in a warm bed in the one inn that the small town of Junon could boast having. The old man had seen it specially set up for Cloud and his friends, and they were allowed to stay the night for free. It had been a very good deal. But not even all of that could keep Cloud's night from getting worse. For as he slept... he dreamt.

_"That reminds me..." _

_The voice returned to him now, echoing as it had before. Cloud recognized it as he looked up. But all he could see was fog. And no matter how hard he tried, he could not remember where it was that he recognized the voice from._

_"You again..." the mercenary was surprised to hear his own voice echo. His frustration mounted. "I shouldn't be having dreams! Aeris is-"_

_"Not as powerful as some," the voice replied in amusement. Cloud could now tell that the voice was a male voice. He had never noticed that before._

_"Who are you?" Cloud demanded._

_"You'll find out soon," the voice promised calmly. "But more importantly. Five years ago..."_

_Cloud frowned. "Five years ago? Nibelheim."_

_"When you went to Mt. Nibel, Tifa was your guide, right...?" the voice sounded sure, but also cruel... mocking._

_"Yeah," Cloud nodded, looking around through the fog, but unable to penetrate it. "I was surprised."_

_"But where was Tifa other than that?" the voice demanded, though he sounded like he knew. He was just trying to get Cloud to ask the same question._

_Cloud thought about it, but could not see where this could be leading. "I dunno."_

_When the voice next spoke, he almost seemed to be laughing. "It was a great chance for you two to see each other again."_

_"You're right," Cloud agreed softly, wondering why he couldn't remember. Where had Tifa been all that time? And why was this voice trying to get the mercenary to question himself?_

_"Why couldn't you see each other alone?" the voice asked tauntingly._

_"I don't know," Cloud snapped, irritable, and resentful that he could not remember. "I can't remember clearly."_

_"Why don't you try asking Tifa?" the voice seemed to challenge him... to dare him. Cloud wasn't afraid of accepting that dare. He nodded, yes. And then he could almost sense the owner of that voice smile in triumph. "Then get up."_

_"Hey," a new voice caught Cloud's attention. He looked around, but could not see. "Wake up. Wake up, Cloud." It was then that he realized someone else was trying to return him to the world of the living._

"Wake up, Cloud," Tifa quietly shook the mercenary's shoulders. She stopped only when she saw his eyes snap open. She sat down beside him as he sat up and stared at her with a strange intensity that caused her heart to beat faster in apprehension. Her face flushed. "You were having a nightmare."

Cloud quickly glanced around. Everyone else seemed to be awake, as no one else was in the room. Outside the window, the sun could not be seen due to the plate overhead. But on a dresser by his bed, fresh clothes sat folded up and were awaiting him. Tifa saw him glance at them, and her face darkened to a deeper red. She turned away and stood up. "I'll just... wait for you outside."

"Tifa," he reached towards her and caught her wrist. She glanced back at him in surprise, and now he was the one who was blushing. He let go of her and looked away. "When Sephiroth and I went to Nibelheim... where were you?"

Tifa turned towards him in surprise, her breath catching in her throat as her heart raced even faster. "We saw each other, right?"

Cloud looked back up at her with a shrug. "I mean all the other times... when we weren't doing anything... but waiting. Where were you? What were you doing?"

She stared at him, thinking the question over in her mind, silently thinking about the answer. He wanted to know why they hadn't spent any time together... If it had been him five years ago, then she truly believed they would have spent every second together that they could have... But Cloud had not, in Tifa's memory, been in Nibelheim five years ago. It had been Zack. And Tifa had not known Zack any better than she had known Sephiroth. So instead of spending time with him, she had done other things like she had normally done in her life. Why should she not have?

Cloud had taken over the role of Zack... in his mind at least. And now the events that he had taken on in that role were getting mixed up with the memories that they had both shared in their childhood. It seemed that now he was beginning to realize this.

_There is something wrong with _his_ memory after all,_ Tifa thought miserably. _And not mine._ It did not bring her any comfort.

She looked away from Cloud. "I hit my head really hard five years ago, Cloud. So much is so hard to remember. And that... I just don't." Tears stung in her eyes again. She was so confused! Everything was so mixed up! She wished she could just think clearly! Not knowing... it was enough to drive her mad!

Cloud's hand fell to rest on her shoulder. Tifa turned towards him in surprise, finding him standing at her side with a bed sheet wrapped around his waist. She glanced up at him, into his glowing eyes that stared down at her in understanding.

"It's okay, Tifa," he assured her. "I don't remember either."

"Memories..." she whispered. "They belong to us. They shouldn't be allowed to be taken from us. Or changed or twisted. They are all we have of our past, and with them... all mixed up and confused like this... It's not how it's supposed to be. Memories should be certain and clear... Like a picture. It hurts that they're not."

"I know," Cloud told her. "It hurts me too."


	17. A Presidential Reception

**Chapter Sixteen: A Presidential Reception**

When Cloud and Tifa made their way into the lobby some time later – after Cloud had dressed – they found Aeris, Barret, Yuffie, and Red Thirteen all keeping company with the little girl from the night before. Priscilla. She seemed incredibly lively this morning, currently standing with Aeris kneeling in front of her as she spoke happily with the Cetra.

"All the other kids say I'm making it up!" Priscilla said. "They say they've all been out in boats and there's never been any sign of Mr. Dolphin! But he comes! He does for me!"

"Well," Aeris told her, her eyes sparkling with joyful laughter. "I certainly believe you, Miss Priscilla." The little girl beamed.

"Well look who's awake," Yuffie said upon noticing Cloud and Tifa, a large grin on her face. "Thought you had died up there."

Everyone glanced around towards the newcomers, and Priscilla's face turned bright pink as soon as she saw Cloud.

Aeris stood up with a small, but enthusiastic, wave of her hand. "Good morning, you two! Did you sleep well?"

"Yes," Cloud said automatically, and Tifa did not correct him. Doing so would have been pointless in both of their minds. The mercenary glanced down at the little girl. Normally, he never would have taken such an interest in any child... But he remembered carrying her home the night before... Holding a sleeping child in his arms had been rather strange to him, and he felt closer to Priscilla because of it. He didn't know why. But he was concerned for her. "Are you all right now?"

Priscilla's blush deepened and she looked away from him as if bashful. She nodded shyly. "Umm..." she glanced up at him with wide eyes. "Thanks for helping me... Here." She walked up to him and held something out towards him that she had been holding tightly in her hands. "I'll give you something _special_." Cloud could see that it was a small blue sphere. Materia.

From the corner of his eye, Cloud noticed Yuffie visibly perk up. She stared at the Materia that Priscilla held out towards the mercenary almost hungrily. But Cloud shook his head. "I can't accept that, Priscilla. It belongs to you."

"Please," Priscilla pushed it into his hand. "Just take good care of it, okay?" She looked up at him with those dark, wide eyes, and Cloud found that the only thing he could do was nod. She smiled at him, then turned and made for the inn's door. She paused at it and looked back at them. "If you want, you can come to the beach with me and see if Mr. Dolphin's there." She turned and bolted outside.

Cloud glanced at the rest of his companions. Aeris was already following the child, and Yuffie skipped along after her. But the others waited for Cloud.

"Shouldn't we be looking for someone?" Barret demanded.

"Yes," Red Thirteen agreed. "But how often do you get the chance to see a dolphin? I know I never have." At Cloud's nod, the cat turned and headed towards the door. Tifa followed so that she could open it for him.

Cloud glanced at Barret. "I'll think of something on the way." Barret nodded and headed out after the others.

OOOOOOO

"Grandpa, Grandma, and my uncle told me this beach was beautiful when they were small," Priscilla told her new friends when they had reached the contaminated water's edge. "But after the ShinRa built that city above, the sun could barely ever shine on the water, and it got polluted. I was raised on that story... and I hate the ShinRa so much I could die!"

"Join the club," Barret grumbled, staring out across the sea. The water was browner than blue... and though there was no trash in it, there might well have been for all the dead weeds that floated near the shore. As a child, Tifa had been told that the sea was vast and majestic. Now that she could see it during the day, it just looked empty.

Suddenly music poured down to their ears from up above. They all glanced up in surprise.

"What's that?" Barret demanded. "Sure sounds lively." It did not, in any way, fit the mood that he had put himself in. Priscilla crossed her arms with an unhappy pout.

"I heard they were rehearsing the reception for the new ShinRa president," the girl told them glumly.

"Rufus?" Barret glanced at her in surprise, but that quickly melted into anger. He scowled, his arms shaking while his one hand clenched into a fist. "I gotta pay my respects, then."

Red Thirteen scowled and glanced at Cloud. "Hey... Didn't you finish Rufus off back at Midgar?"

Cloud shook his head. "He flew off in his helicopter before I was able to."

Yuffie shuffled slightly towards Aeris. "I didn't know there was a new ShinRa president..."

"Yeah," Aeris nodded. "Cause Sephiroth killed President Shinra."

"And Cloud tried killing Rufus?" Yuffie asked. Aeris nodded, and the young teenager frowned. "So that would make you guys what...? Terrorists?"

Aeris shook her head quickly. "Of course not! ShinRa's the terrorist group! We're just trying to stop them!"

Yuffie grinned. "That's cool."

Priscilla had listened to their little conversation in wonder. She turned imploringly towards Cloud. "So you guys really _are_ fighting ShinRa!"

"Course," Barret nodded. He turned from her and looked at Cloud, holding up his machine gun. "We gotta get to the city up there! Because even if Sephiroth's not in Junon, Rufus is!"

"No, I don't want to make a big scene," Cloud objected. "As much as I hate to say it, I think the Turks have the right idea. A little reconnaissance should be done before we come up with any sort of plan of action."

"I'll do it!" Yuffie raised her hand enthusiastically. Everyone glared at her, but she didn't seem to mind at all.

"_I'll_ do it," Cloud corrected her. Priscilla glanced up at the mercenary with more than a little admiration in her eyes. But no one was looking back at her, and no one noticed. Yuffie let out a small huff of disappointment.

OOOOOOO

The process of sneaking up onto the upper plate of Junon proved to be almost exactly like the process of how it had been done in Midgar. Cloud had found a support beam for the plate and had climbed up. It was a very long climb, but much easier than the one in Midgar had been. The support beam in Junon actually had a ladder constructed onto its side.

When Cloud neared the top of the ladder, he slowed his pace. Looking up, he watched as he neared the top of the beam. When he reached it, he carefully peered over the edge and looked out across the plate.

He found that he was looking at a large landing station. It was a huge strip that expanded almost as far as he could see. In the distance, there were several people going about their business, and none of them noticed Cloud as he stealthily jumped onto the plate and, bending down close to the ground, made towards several carts to his left that might provide some shelter for him.

As he went, he found himself staring at a giant airship that was resting on the landing strip. It was a huge ship that he recognized as the Highwind. It seemed to be the focus of much attention among the ShinRa. But then he put it from his mind, and continued ducking behind whatever shelter he could as he made his way around the station.

He found himself approaching a large single story building that was by far wider around than it was tall. Constructed out of steel and iron, it was a much colder looking building that any he had ever seen before... with the possible exception of the ShinRa Headquarters of Midgar. The building before him presently was part of the military complex in Junon. Cloud had been there before on more than one occasion. Because of that, he found it almost too easy finding a small side door where he could slip in unnoticed.

But as he went, he kept a careful eye out for cameras. There weren't many that he could see, and the ones that he did notice periodically shifted left and right to get a clear sweep of their territory. Cloud found it rather easy to slip by them when they weren't pointed in his direction.

And as he made his way through the building's corridors, he found himself growing bolder. Instead of moving around in stealth, he walked upright through the halls as if he owned the place. Were any one to see him, unless they recognized him, they would not suspect him of being out of place.

After a few more minutes of aimless wandering, Cloud heard a door open behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw a large man walk out into the corridor. The man was dressed as a Commander, and he was grumbling to himself when he saw Cloud. The mercenary tensed, ready for a confrontation, but the Commander didn't seem to recognize him as anyone out of the ordinary.

The man snarled, turning to completely face Cloud. "Hey! What're you doing still dressed like that?" Cloud immediately forced his body to relax as the Commander angrily approached him. "I knew someone like you would show up today! Every single time! There's always someone like you who tries ruining it for me! Come here!"

He roughly grabbed Cloud's shoulder. And though Cloud would normally have retaliated against such hostility, he let it slide this time so as not to give himself away. The Commander turned and headed back into the room from which he had just left. Cloud immediately noticed, as he entered, that it was a locker room.

"Today's the big day when we welcome President Rufus!" the Commander was angrily reminding Cloud, whom he suspected to be just another average ShinRa soldier. He pushed the mercenary farther into the room. "Hurry up and change!"

Cloud glanced back at the Commander, but didn't reply. Instead, he walked up to a random locker, hoping his companion wouldn't realize it didn't belong to him, and also hoping that whoever owned it still had their uniform inside. Luck was with him both times, as he used his body to hide the lock from the Commander, who wasn't even really watching in the first place. Touching one of the Materia on his belt, Cloud was able to summon extra strength, which made it easy for him to tear the lock off the locker door. When he opened it, he found a ShinRa soldier's uniform inside that fortunately seemed to be his size.

The soldier who actually owned the uniform was of relatively low rank. Probably nothing more than a guard or something, Cloud guessed as he changed into the uniform. It was completely blue and black, and everything about it screamed its familiarity to Cloud, who was frowning unhappily as he put it on.

Cloud had been a guard, once, too. A long time ago. Seven years ago when he had first left Nibelheim, before he managed to join SOLDIER. Everyone started out as a guard. He remembered the first time he had put the uniform on. He had been so proud of himself.

Cloud placed his own clothes on the floor in the corner not far from him. He didn't dare put them in some other person's locker. Then he turned back towards it and reached for the final piece that up the guard's uniform. A blue helmet with a visor that could come down and cover a guard's face. When he touched it, his body shook and he suddenly felt dizzy. A string of memories flashed through his mind, but he could not keep up with them. Something about this helmet... the visor that easily served as a mask... It was _painfully_ familiar to him. He didn't understand why.

Pushing that strange feeling aside, Cloud placed the helmet on his head, leaving the visor up so his face was not covered. He didn't want to cover his face with that mask... Everything about this uniform disgusted him. He couldn't remember when it had been that he could no longer _stand_ wearing that uniform. He hated it.

But for now he forced himself to tolerate it as he clipped his sword onto his back and turned towards the Commander. The man glanced at the mercenary in approval.

"Good," he nodded. "That looks much better. Now hurry up. If we're late, you're going to really be in trouble." He spun on his heel and marched out of the locker room. Cloud followed quickly behind.

Several minutes after they had left, two other guards ran into the locker room. One guard was dressed up as he should have been for the presidential reception. The other man was in brown pants and a white muscle shirt. In a panic, he sprinted to his locker. But when he got there, he immediately noticed his lock was broken, his locker had been tampered with, and his uniform was missing.

He spun around towards his companion. "_That_ is _not_ funny!" His friend could only stare at him in sympathy.

OOOOOOO

Outside, the Commander led Cloud across the military complex to a large road where hundreds upon hundreds of other ShinRa guards and soldiers had lined up. At the Commander's signal, Cloud immediately took his place among them. But once he was in line with hundreds of others, he felt a strange sense of déjà vu. He was a nameless face in a crowd of other nameless faces. He had been there before, and hated the feeling that swept through him now. It was just so strange... Like he was more awake right at that moment than he had been earlier that morning. He shuddered.

Time seemed to be moving quickly. As Cloud watched, several men on the sides of the road arrived with cameras that they quickly and expertly set up. Cloud, who was at the end of a middle row in the long line of rows of guards, noticed that up ahead, another road intersected across the road they were all on. It was on this intersection that several high ranking officers presently began to march down.

Cloud realized that he and his nameless flood of companions were not expected to do anything other than just stand there and watch. They were not important enough to be in any kind of parade. They were just spectators... meant to be seen, but not heard. Those who were marching were apparently either of the Turks or of some other ShinRa organization that commanded respect.

Behind them, several large vehicles and tanks drove down the road. The camera men watched and recorded as the procession continued. Suddenly, Cloud watched as a gigantic tank appeared in the road. The tank was huge. Practically the size of the airship he had seen earlier. The roads on the complex were big enough to allow such huge weapons, but even still, Cloud caught his breath at the sight of it.

But it wasn't just a tank, Cloud realized, as his eyes took in the sight of a large and very long cannon that was built into it. He had never seen a cannon so big. No. He had not realized that ShinRa possessed anything quite like it. The destructive power of such a weapon... Cloud did not even want to consider it.

"The Junon cannon," someone behind him whispered, but Cloud did not dare turn around and see who it was, or ask any questions about it. All he could do was stare at it in surprise and in awe.

But then he noticed who stood on the top of that tank. President Rufus and General Heidegger. Cloud tensed slightly, even though he knew that neither of the two would ever see him nor recognize him in the crowd.

Up on that tank, Rufus and Heidegger were in serious conversation as the procession progressed. Rufus in particular hated formalities such as this. It had not been _his_ idea to take part in any sort of presidential reception. He had too much he wanted to do, and finding ways to keep up ShinRa morale through formal ceremonies was not something he wanted to concern himself with.

Instead, he opted to discuss strategy with his general as the parade made way across the base. "What happened to the Airship?"

"The long range airship is still being prepared," Heidegger told the president. "It should be ready in about three more days." The man chuckled.

Rufus, however, was not pleased. He glared at the general. "Even the Air Force's Gelnika?" They were growing behind schedule. When Heidegger only continued on with his chuckling did Rufus completely lose patience with the man. "Stop that stupid horse laugh! Things are different than when father was in charge!"

Heidegger paled slightly and swallowed his amusement. Rufus, unlike his father, was hardly ever in a pleasant mood, and was even worse when angry.

Rufus took a deep breath, relaxing his muscles. "The Airships are still in preparation." He accepted that for now. "Is the boat ready at least?" They couldn't waste any more time in Junon than was absolutely necessary.

"It's on its way into the harbor right now," Heidegger assured the president. "It'll be ready quickly, sir."

Rufus nodded. "Good."

Back in the sea of nameless faces, the Commander had wandered away from Cloud and the few soldiers around him. The mercenary immediately noticed that they all let out small breaths of relief and relaxed slightly now that they were unsupervised.

One man glanced at another. "Man. Commander's been really irritable lately, hasn't he?" His voice was whispered, but several surrounding guards heard and nodded. They may have been nameless, but they knew each other and took more from each other than just companionship. They were all friends. And Cloud eavesdropped as they spoke.

"It's been 'cause of Heidegger," one guard was whispering to another. "Ever since Rufus took over, Heidegger's been on everyone's case."

"They're looking for that man in the black cape," another guard whispered. "You remember... That guy who killed those soldiers..."

Cloud's ears perked up at that, and dared glanced at the whispering group of friends. Man in a black cape...?

"Rumor says it was Sephiroth," the guard continued in a conspiratorial tone. "But he's disappeared. No one's been able to find him."

"Not only that," another guard grumbled unhappily. "Heidegger's pissed 'cause Dr. Hojo left leaving a letter of resignation or something or other. He's been forced to take care of that investigation, too."

Cloud frowned. Dr. Hojo had resigned? He wondered why... And as he wondered, the procession eventually came to an end. The Commander dismissed the men, and Cloud found himself automatically marching with the rest of the troops back towards the lockers. The march was organized and disciplined. Considering Cloud had not been a part of such a march in about seven years, he was surprised at how easy it was for him to blend in with the rest of the marching guards. It came to him naturally, like he had been doing it all his life... It was very unsettling...

Cloud and the other guards returned to the locker room where they then went on to change out of their uniforms. Cloud snapped back to reality, and hastened towards the corner where he had dropped his clothes. He quickly slipped out of the uniform and back into his own garments before tossing the uniform back into the locker he had stolen it from. He then hastened to bolt out of the room and away from the mass sea of ShinRa guards. He could not get over how uncomfortable it made him when he realized how comfortable he had been in that locker room taking part in something that he had not taken part in for seven years.

After he had gone, two men appeared at the locker with the Commander. One man was in a state of extreme distress. "I'm telling you! I've been robbed! And I don't have the money to pay for it!" The three stopped outside the locker and glanced at the clothes resting inside of it. The one man stared at the uniform in shock, and then scratched his head in wonder. "Well... That don't make no sense!" The Commander glared at the poor guard in frustrated exasperation.


	18. At Sea

**Chapter Seventeen: At Sea**

Sneaking off of the upper plate and back down into the Junon village proved to be as easy for Cloud as it had been to get up there in the first place. But as Cloud climbed back down the ladder, there was one major difference from when he had first climbed up. When he jumped onto the ground, he found himself in the company of pretty much the entire fishing village. They, along with the rest of his friends, were all staring out to sea.

Cloud frowned, and turned to follow their gazes. And what he saw surprised him. For there was a large boat in the harbor sailing smoothly towards them from sea. Cloud walked over towards Aeris, who, along with the others, had been waiting for the mercenary under the support beam. They were a little bit away from the rest of the crowd, but as intent on the ship as the rest of the villagers were. Aeris, however, sensed Cloud's approach, and her head swung around to find him.

"Hey, you're back!" she declared with a smile when she saw him. He nodded as the rest of the group turned towards him in surprise. When Tifa saw him, she let out a relieved sigh as the rest greeted him as well.

"How was it?" Barret demanded a moment later. "Did ya kick Rufus's ass?"

Cloud glared at the larger black man in distaste. "I highly doubt I'd be standing here if I had attempted that."

"Lacking confidence, now are we?" Yuffie teased, folding her arms over her chest. "I bet you could've." Aeris nodded in agreement.

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Whatever." But then he grew serious, staring at each of his companions in turn. "There are rumors up there saying Sephiroth really is here. He killed a couple of people and then disappeared."

Everyone grew solemn, and Tifa glanced back out towards the ship at sea. Red Thirteen cocked his head. "Why would he do that? What was his motivation? He already has Jenova."

"I don't know," Cloud replied. "My bet is he hasn't made that clear yet. There's something that he wants in Junon, and he hasn't gone for it yet."

Tifa's head whirled back towards Cloud in alarm. "But that means he could still be in the city!"

"Good!" Yuffie declared enthusiastically. "Let's go find him and kick his butt!" Barret glared at her in disapproval.

"Ya insane!" he told her. "Sure, we're all lookin' for Sephiroth, but that don't mean we're actually looking _forward_ to it!"

"Well, maybe you should!" Yuffie shot back. "Maybe the reason you're always one step behind him is 'cause you don't have a positive mental attitude!"

"That's enough," Cloud told them sharply. They both glanced at him, for a moment offended, but they didn't say anything, and sullenly obeyed.

Aeris had turned and had been staring out at the ship again. "Maybe he's looking to cross the ocean."

Everyone in the group turned to look at Aeris in surprise. But as they thought about her statement, they realized it actually kind of made sense. And though they had no proof with which to support her theory, the mere logic of it was enough to convince them of the possibility. After all... what _else_ was there in Junon that Sephiroth could possibly want and not have taken already?

"So?" Yuffie asked, turning back towards the rest of the group. "Who wants to play 'stowaway'?"

OOOOOOO

The sun was sinking towards the horizon as a group of ShinRa sailors carried the last of the large cargo crates aboard the ship that would carry President Rufus across the ocean. They were talking and laughing as they worked, enjoying good companionship, all the while lifting the crates between themselves down into a cargo hold below deck.

There, they dropped off the last of it and made their way back up above deck as they continued talking and joking amongst themselves. Several minutes passed, and before long, the ship pulled anchor and slowly began navigating its way out of the harbor. And as it did, one of the crates suddenly moved. The wooden lit was suddenly forced up, and Cloud climbed out into the room. A moment later, Barret followed out of a similar crate, and then Tifa, Aeris, and Yuffie. Red Thirteen was having a little bit of trouble getting out of his, however, and Cloud walked over to help him.

Yuffie was grinning triumphantly. "I _love_ this! We get a free ride across the ocean right under ShinRa's noses!"

"I hope you know what you're doing," Tifa told the teenager, feeling the apprehension that Yuffie seemed unable to possess. "We _are_ crossing the ocean, after all. I have no idea when, or how, we'll find our way back here."

Yuffie glanced at Tifa, knowing she should appreciate the older woman's concern, but feeling more irritated by it than anything else. "You think I should be worried about never seeing my home again? I'm not."

"Well maybe you should," Tifa snapped resentfully. "At least you _have_ one." Yuffie started at that, and stared at Tifa in surprise. The older girl forced herself to take a deep breath, then turned and walked towards the stairs that led out of the cargo deck.

Red Thirteen took a step after her. "Tifa. Where are you going?" Tifa paused and glanced over her shoulder. All of her friends were staring at her in concern. Again.

She sighed. "Look. I don't wanna stay down here. If we could just... I dunno... _disguise_ ourselves or something, we wouldn't have to hide for the entire journey."

"She's right," Aeris said brightly. She turned towards her companions in enthusiasm. "This is a huge ship with lots of people on it! Which means someone is _bound_ to have extra clothes lying around! Lets find 'em and borrow 'em!" Without waiting for a reply, Aeris hopped after Tifa, and Yuffie followed enthusiastically behind her. The three girls made their way up the stairs.

Cloud glanced at Barret and Red Thirteen, both of whom appeared stunned by the girls' behavior. He just rolled his eyes and followed after them. Red Thirteen, without a word, did the same. Barret sighed in resignation. "I don't gotta good feelin' about this."

As Barret hastened up the stairs after them, in the cargo hold below, the shadows slowly moved. A figure took shape in the darkness... and silently thought about what he had just witnessed.

OOOOOOO

The stars were slowly beginning to appear in the evening sky. Cloud, still dressed in his own clothes, but with a sailor's uniform fitted over them, stared up at those stars as he freely made his way around the ship. Aeris had been right... with the ship being so large, and with so many people on board, he hardly stood out. And though he knew Rufus and Heidegger were somewhere on board as well, he hadn't seen any sign of either of them. And it was nice being able to walk outside on the deck instead of being confined below it.

The ocean air was cool and soft. In Midgar, and even in Junon, it had been heavy with pollutants and thick with humidity. But here on the water, it was thin and tasted like salt. He definitely understood how some people could feel so bound to the sea. It was open, it was majestic – at least _he_ thought it was – and it spoke of freedom.

Cloud was walking along the starboard side when he noticed Aeris. She was standing against the side of the ship, staring out over the water, with a smile on her face. She, too, was dressed in a sailor's uniform, and was wearing a white sailor's hat on her head. It suited her, as everything seemed to, and as she leaned against the rail, she seemed to radiate with happy tranquility. Cloud could feel it stirring in his own heart as a result.

"Hey," he said, walking up to her and leaning against the rail beside her. She glanced at him, her eyes shining brightly as she smiled. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Instead, they listened to the waves and enjoyed the feeling of the boat rocking back and forth as it sailed across the water. The stars shone brighter, and the moonlight reflected off the rolling waves.

"How is everybody?" Aeris finally asked. Cloud glanced at her, surprised that even after all this time Aeris's beauty could still make his heart beat faster and his breath catch in his throat.

"Yuffie's mellowed out a little bit," Cloud told her after a moment. "She's got motion sickness. Go figure."

Aeris glanced at him in surprise. "Is she okay?"

Cloud smiled and nodded. "She's feeling a little nauseous, but she'll be fine. She's too irritating not to be." Aeris smiled. Cloud continued. "Red Thirteen seems amused that he can sneak around this boat without getting noticed. And Barret's doing everything he can _not_ to go on a mad rampage looking for Rufus and Heidegger." Cloud frowned, looking back out towards the water. Barret really missed them. Biggs. Wedge. Jessie... He hardly ever mentioned them, but Cloud could tell he thought about his friends all the time. And though he never said it, Barret truly missed them... He wanted them back... He was finding it so hard to continue on when they were just memories. Losing them had hurt him terribly... But then, that was something they could all understand. For they had all lost something because of ShinRa. They all knew what it felt like.

"What about Tifa?" Aeris asked, glancing at him. Cloud looked back at her unhappily.

"She's really strong," he told her. It was all he could really say. They both knew Tifa was struggling through this. And they both knew there was a lot that she was holding onto silently, refusing to share with them. It saddened Cloud. And it saddened Aeris.

"I know she's strong," the Cetra told the mercenary. "She'll get through this, you know."

Cloud nodded. "I know."

At that moment, several meters out from the ship, a burst of spray suddenly shot up from the water's surface. Cloud and Aeris both glanced towards it in surprise, unsure of what it was or what it meant. Tensing, Cloud reached for Aeris's hand and took it in his. It felt warm and pure to touch, and Cloud felt a wave of ease pour through his mind and body as they both stared out to sea.

And as they watched, they saw a long silvery creature gracefully leap out of the water. A second later it dove back in, a tail rising up and falling in after it. A moment later the creature was in the sky again water sparkling around it like glittering diamonds under the moonlight. Aeris's mouth fell open at the sight.

The creature dove back into the water with a majestic grace unlike any Cloud had ever seen before. When it came back up again, Cloud had the distinct impression that it was dancing for them.

"Look," he told Aeris as they both watched the beautiful creature. "It's Priscilla's dolphin."

Aeris was smiling in her astonishment. "Mr. Dolphin... I knew Priscilla wasn't lying about him."

The dolphin continued dancing for them for several minutes. Hand in hand, Cloud and Aeris watched in silence. With the stars shining down upon them, they both found it easy to believe that they were in the only ones remaining in the world. It was just the two of them with a dolphin at play in the water below.

There was no ShinRa... no Mako... no reactors... The planet was not in danger, and Sephiroth and Jenova did not exist for them. For in those few minutes, Cloud and Aeris felt entirely at peace, and were able to forget about everything else. The only thing that mattered to them was that they were together, and that a dolphin was dancing for them.

Too soon did the dolphin dive back beneath the surface. Too soon did he not come rising up to fly underneath the stars. But even after he had left them, their moments of happy peace continued on a while longer.

Aeris glanced up at Cloud, her face practically glowing. "He was so amazing! I'm so glad he really exists!" She looked back out towards the water. The waves rolled gently beneath the ship, and the movement of it relaxed them both even more. "He was beautiful."

Cloud glanced down at Aeris. "Like you..." She looked up at him and smiled. When was the last time someone had called her that? It sounded nice.

"Why, thank you, Cloud," she told him, laughter sounding in her voice and shining in her eyes. "You are, too." His face reddened at that comment. He looked back out over the water. Aeris squeezed his hand in hers before she, too, gazed out towards the sea.

OOOOOOO

The night slowly passed, yet at the same time, morning quickly came. And as it did, Tifa stood silently by herself, staring east as the sun rose. The sky was a brilliant color, and the sun reflected off the water as it appeared on the horizon. It was a new morning once again. Tifa wondered where it would lead her.

Silently, Red Thirteen made his way over to her. When he reached her, he pushed off his fore legs and, standing on his hind ones, rested his front paws against the ship's rail. Doing this, he was just as tall as Tifa. He glanced sideways at her. "We're almost there."

"I know," Tifa assured him, glancing down towards the front of the ship. In the distance, she could already see land forming. "Costa del Sol. It's supposed to be very exotic."

"Not necessarily a good thing," Red pointed out. Tifa didn't answer, but looked back out towards the sun. And as if it were possibly for him to do so, Red Thirteen frowned. "You can damage your eyes, you know."

"Sometimes I wonder if my eyes aren't already damaged," Tifa confessed to him. "There's so much I can't seem able to see."

"There's nothing wrong with your eyes, Tifa," the large cat told her. "So don't treat them as if there were." Tifa glanced over at him with a small, sad smile on her lips.

"You're very sweet, Red Thirteen," she told him.

"Actually," Red glanced away from her and stared at the water. "My real name is-"

Before he could continue, however, a voice over an intercom interrupted him. "Emergency alert! Reports of a suspicious character found! Those not on detail, search the ship! Report when found! I repeat! Suspicious character found on board! Those not on detail, search the ship! Report when found!"

Red Thirteen immediately fell back onto all four paws, and Tifa glanced behind her in alarm. Several men and women of ShinRa had stopped in their activities and were looking around in surprised confusion as well. A moment later, several people were heading in various directions to search.

Tifa glanced at Red Thirteen. "You think they know we're here?" Red glanced up at her with such an expression that she knew he was concerned.

"Let's find the others," he suggested. Tifa nodded. Together, they scrambled towards the front of the ship. Yuffie met them halfway, her face looking slightly green. Tifa paused when she saw the teenager.

"Yuffie," she said, taking in the sight of the sick girl. "Are _you_ the suspicious character they were talking about? Cause you kinda look really bad."

Yuffie glared at her sourly. "Ha, ha."

Barret came plowing out of a nearby cabin and looked around. He caught sight of Tifa, Red, and Yuffie. "Hey! You guys all right?" They turned towards him and nodded. A moment later, Cloud and Aeris joined them.

"Is everyone here?" Cloud demanded even as he did a quick head count. But as they stood in the middle of the deck with men and women scrambling around them, no one seemed to be paying the group the slightest attention.

"It doesn't look like we're the ones they were talking about on that intercom," Aeris observed. The others agreed with her. None of them, not even Red Thirteen, could possibly have been the suspicious character in question. Otherwise, they would have had ShinRa soldiers down their throats by that point.

"Hey, wait!" Barret suddenly spun around in alarm, gazing around the ship in concern. "You don't think that suspicious character is Sephiroth, do you?" They all caught their breaths at that remark. For though they had all accepted Aeris's theory that Sephiroth might have wanted to cross the ocean, none of them had truly expected him to make any sort of appearance on board.

Yuffie glanced at Aeris in alarm. "You didn't say he was an extremely dangerous, powerful, psychotic murderer that no one has a chance at defeating, did you?"

"Do you really think it's him?" Tifa asked Barret, panic tearing through her veins as her heart pounded in her throat.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Barret demanded, hating to feel afraid, so forcing anger to take control.

"Let's find out," Cloud suggested, even as his own heart raced through his chest. Was it possible? Was Sephiroth really on the boat with them? So close...? So terrifyingly close...?

He tore towards a cabin door that led down into the bowels of the ship. He did not know why he chose to go in that particular direction. It was just that he sensed... No. He didn't sense anything. He just felt _compelled_ to choose that path. Red Thirteen was directly at his side as he walked down the wooden steps of the boat. Aeris was behind him, with Yuffie behind her and then Barret and Tifa in the back. And as they made their way down, the first thing they noticed was the smell.

It was dark down there. Several lights were on, but dimly lit, and shadows blanketed the corridor they found themselves in. The smell was horrendous. And disgustingly familiar. For as their eyes adjusted to the dim light, they all could make out several bodies littering the floor. And as they had once seen before, they could now make out blood soaking the floor and walls.

"Oh..." Yuffie stared at the massacre before her in horror. Sea sick as she was, Cloud found it amazing that the teenager was capable of holding in her stomach.

Aeris was shaking her head and backing away. "I... just don't understand... why he would do this." So much death... Such a pointless, meaningless waste of life. It disgusted her.

"I hate him," Tifa declared in a soft whisper. She turned to run back up the way she had come, but a sudden movement to their left caught their attention. The corridor had extended in that direction too, and there was a door that had suddenly opened as a man scrambled out towards them with a look of panic on his face. Tifa, and all of her friends, turned towards him in alarm, watching him motionlessly.

When he saw them, for a single moment he looked hopeful. But that hope melted back into pain as his body fell onto the floor and blood soaked out from underneath him. For lodged in the back of his neck was the blade of a lethal, murderous knife.

Cloud choked on his own breath as Tifa dully fell to her knees. For a moment, they were all too stunned to move or speak. For beyond that door...

The shadows moved. In the dark cabin they watched as a tall, menacing form took shape in the threshold, towering over the corpse. Aside from Tifa, who was still on her knees, and Cloud, who seemed unable to move at all, everyone there slowly drew back from that form in the doorway.

"After a long sleep..." the form in the shadows spoke. His voice... cold and impassive. And to Cloud and Tifa... terribly familiar. The mercenary tensed, and the girl cringed, as Sephiroth stepped out of the shadows and gazed at them with hard, cold eyes. "The time... time has... come..."

"Sephiroth," Cloud spoke, his gaze turning towards the long silver sword the man was holding. The Masamune. It was soaked in blood. "You're alive..." he looked back up into the eyes of the warrior.

Sephiroth was staring at Cloud emotionlessly. There was no recognition in his eyes as he gazed at the mercenary. "Who are you?"

Cloud was trembling. Had something happened to Sephiroth's memories as well? Tifa glanced up and stared at the man in fear. Cloud took a small step backwards. "You don't remember...? I'm Cloud..."

"Cloud...?" Sephiroth was frowning. He glanced down at Tifa, and she looked away. Slowly, Sephiroth gazed at each of their companions in turn. When he looked back at Cloud, his eyes were alight with, not recognition, but understanding. "You were the one with Tifa in Midgar."

Tifa looked back at Sephiroth, her face much paler than it had been before. She looked like she couldn't breathe. "How... do you know that?"

"He's the one who let us out of those cells..." Cloud admitted. Barret and Aeris both glanced at the mercenary in surprise. But Tifa, though her fear escalated several levels, could not take her eyes off Sephiroth.

"Why would you do that?" she asked in a terrified voice. Tears stung in her eyes. "Why would you not kill us?"

"Is that what you want?" Sephiroth asked, staring down at Tifa in fierce intensity. He raised his blade slightly in her direction.

"No!" Cloud shouted, drawing his Buster Sword and stepping in-between the man and the girl. Sephiroth's eyes narrowed when he saw the blade Cloud held. The Masamune dropped back to the man's side as he turned towards the mercenary.

"The time..." he said, the acoustics of the ship's cabin suddenly causing his voice to echo. "Is now..."

A monster suddenly shot forth from behind Sephiroth, making its way straight towards Cloud. The mercenary's eyes widened in alarm, but he was given no further time to react to it. It collided into him, sending them both crashing to the floor. Barret, Red Thirteen, Aeris, and Yuffie all jumped back, crying out in surprise.

Barret scowled and began firing rounds into the monster's body. Yuffie, though still feeling more than a little queasy herself, grabbed her boomerang and threw it savagely at the monster. It lodged into the beast's side, causing it to shriek in pain. It jumped away from Cloud and rushed towards Barret and Yuffie. But Red Thirteen appeared in its path, and the giant cat, letting out a shriek of his own, jumped towards it with his teeth bared and his claws sharpened. The two creatures collided together and fought with savage ferocity.

Meanwhile, Tifa glanced up at Sephiroth. The man had been studying Cloud impassively, but she thought she felt interest inside him. She shivered as she slowly pushed herself to her feet. Her movement caught Sephiroth's attention, and he looked at her. Tifa drew deathly still as they gazes caught. For a moment, neither of them moved at all. But then, Sephiroth's mouth curled into a cruel smile, and he turned and walked back into the darkened cabin. Tifa watched him go, unable to bring herself to follow.

Cloud, on the other hand, had not noticed Sephiroth's retreat as he jumped back to his feet and turned towards the monster Red Thirteen was fighting against. Clenching his jaw shut in determination, Cloud gripped his Buster Sword and strode towards the monster. And with a few more swings of the giant blade, the creature collapsed onto the floor and did not get back up.

"Everyone all right?" Barret demanded after a silent, motionless moment had passed. No one answered.

Cloud suddenly spun around towards the cabin. "Sephiroth!" There was no response.

Yuffie walked over towards the monster, feeling sick as she retrieved her boomerang. Aeris walked over to Red Thirteen, stubbornly determined to look him over for any injuries. Barret hastened over towards Tifa, wrapping his good arm around her waist as she seemed close to collapsing herself.

Cloud bolted into the cabin, his weapon raised, ready to fight his enemy. However, there was no sign of Sephiroth at all in the room. Shivering, Cloud looked around a second time, but he was still unable to find even a trace of his enemy. It was like the man had vanished into thin air… or worse… it was like he hadn't even been there. Either prospect was hardly comforting, and Cloud found himself fighting to regain his breath and maintain his composure.

By that point, Aeris and Red Thirteen had entered the room, with Yuffie, Barret, and Tifa behind them. Cloud glanced over at his them miserably. "He's not here."

Yuffie was staring at the mercenary with wide eyes. "That thing... That attacked us out there... What was it?"

He stared at her miserably. "A monster. My guess is it was created by Jenova. He's carrying that thing around with him!"

"Sick bastard," Barret was grumbling. Tifa, who he still supported, was trembling violently. She was staring at Cloud.

"He... he knew me..." she whispered, forcing Cloud to walk towards her in order to hear her. She looked as sick as Yuffie was. "He didn't kill us... Why does it matter to him if we're alive or not...? He killed everyone else..."

"It can't be that he doesn't think we're a threat," Red Thirteen added. "He killed all the men out in the hall, and they weren't a threat to him. It has to be something else."

"Is it 'cause of Aeris?" Barret demanded. "Cause she's Cetra like he is?" Aeris glanced at the large man in surprise, but then glanced at Cloud, curiously waiting his opinion. But the mercenary merely shrugged.

"Maybe he just gets a kick out of making us suffer," Tifa muttered in her misery. She had never in her life felt more vulnerable... or more frightened.

"Sephiroth is alive," Cloud whispered to himself, looking away from his friends. There was so much he still didn't understand! The Promised Land...? Did it truly exist...? And... what Sephiroth had said... That it was time...? Time for what...?

There were so many questions. Cloud didn't even know where to begin anymore. He didn't know any of the answers. And he seriously wondered if it were even possible that he ever would.


	19. The Encounter at Costa del Sol

**Chapter Eighteen: The Encounter at Costa del Sol**

As the ship docked in the harbor of a rather exotic 'paradise', Cloud and his friends, in the chaos that had mounted on board the large boat, found it rather easy sneaking off. And they did so, quickly and carefully, barely passing any words between them. Absolutely none of them could get any of the images they had seen in the cargo hold out of their minds. Instead, they gloomily walked along the beach, away from the harbor and the docks, taking in their surroundings without really seeing any of them.

Costa del Sol was a giant beach covered in white sand and filled with vacationers who seemingly enjoyed the sunlight. After having been in places like Midgar and Junon, Tifa would have thought she'd be a lot happier being here... But as she thought about it, she realized that their encounter with Sephiroth was just too fresh on her mind. She was still trying to overcome her shock, her anguish, but most of all, her terror... And she wondered if she would ever find a way to 'enjoy' herself ever again.

"Come on," Cloud said, finally breaking the silence. He headed towards a moderately sized building that had been built far inland from the beach. "Let's find somewhere to get out of these sailor suits."

"Damn," Barret grumbled as he followed the mercenary. "Thought we'd never be able to." The large black man himself had been unable to find a uniform that had been the correct size for him. When he had tried throwing it on over his own clothes, and then tried stuffing his machine gun through the sleeve, the cloth had torn in many places, and he was really only wearing half of what the uniform originally had been. That was one reason why he had opted to hide down in a cabin until that alarm had gone off...

Aeris, forcing herself to reclaim a positive outlook after all that had happened, so that she might bring some light and humor into their darkened depression, and possibly just save their sanity, chuckled. "Aw... That's too bad. I liked Barret's sailor suit. He looked so cute."

Everyone stopped short and stared at the Cetra in amazement. After all that had... How was she able to...?

Barret's face suddenly turned red. "What da ya mean, 'cute'?" His voice had been just a little bit too loud, and several women lying on towels along the beach glanced at him in surprise. For a moment, no one spoke.

But Aeris smiled brightly, and the sun's rays seemed to shine down towards her, and it was as if she were a star in the spotlight. All her friends could do was gaze at her in amazement as their hearts lightened considerably and the hot heat generating from the sun transformed into nothing more than just gentle, comforting warmth. It was an offering given to them by the Cetra. High spirits and a peace of mind... Aeris was offering it to them. How she was able to...? It was just another of her powers.

Cloud glanced towards the rest of his friends. Barret's anger lessened a bit, but he had crossed his arms with a huff, feigning childlike sourness. Red Thirteen had plopped down, sitting in the sand, and he was looking up at his friends in amusement. Yuffie had sighed and fallen onto the sand, lying sprawled out on her back as she stared happily into the sky, glad to be on land again. Tifa... she was standing off by herself a little bit, with her arms crossed, and a small, soft, barely perceptible smile on her lips. Cloud looked back at Aeris. He had never felt like he owed her so much as he did right now...

_Aeris,_ he thought to himself, surprised when she glanced at him as if she could hear... He smiled softly at her, and her own smile widened. Cloud cocked his head, gazing at her thoughtfully. _Where would we be without you?_

"Come on," he said aloud, heading towards the resort once again. "We should hurry before Sephiroth gets too far ahead." The others nodded and walked after him. Yuffie followed behind them, having to push herself back up onto her feet. But she caught up easily, overcoming her seasickness rather quickly.

Aeris, meanwhile, caught up with Cloud and took his hand in hers. When he glanced down at her, she whispered up to him: "Don't worry. I'm not going to leave you."

OOOOOOO

Back on the great ship that had sailed to Costa del Sol from Junon Harbor, President Rufus had made his way onto the upper deck. He was staring out towards the beach with a frown planted angrily across his face.

Presently, Heidegger was walking towards him, and Rufus glanced towards the overweight General in disapproval. When he spoke, his voice was low and threatening. "I understand Sephiroth was on board."

Heidegger hesitated, and stared at the president nervously. "...Yes..."

"And it seems Cloud and the others were on board, too," Rufus continued as he looked back out towards the beach.

"Yes..."

"They all slipped through," Rufus crossed his arms thoughtfully. It was actually impressive. He, like his father before him, had underestimated the mercenary. It was turning out that Cloud and his friends, not to mention Sephiroth, were all by far more competent than the fools he had surrounding him. He glared at the General. "You messed up big this time, Heidegger."

"I'm ashamed of myself, sir," Heidegger assured the young president, his face turning beat red. It was incredibly difficult for the General to show such humility to a boy who was not even _half_ his age! And the fact that _another_ boy, though with the aid of Sephiroth, who was by far a more worthy opponent, had managed to _humiliate_ him as well was enough to drive him into a rage. He had never been angrier in his life.

"Is that all you can do?" Rufus scowled, turning towards Heidegger bitterly. "Give one word answers and apologize for everything?"

Heidegger stared at the president, hate coursing through his veins. What right did Rufus have...? He fumed silently, and turned away.

At that moment, a sailor walked up to the two of them and saluted Rufus. "Your helicopter has arrived, Mr. President." Rufus coldly acknowledged the man, who then turned and walked away.

"Do something," Rufus ordered the General fiercely. "I'll be expecting results." With that, Rufus walked towards the docks, several guards following him, as he headed off the boat and towards a car waiting to take him to his helicopter. Heidegger, realizing he had not been invited to travel with the president, which was to be taken as an insult, felt his hate for the younger man multiply tenfold.

OOOOOOO

When Cloud had finally pulled off the sailor's uniform he had donned over his own clothes, he immediately felt more comfortable... And yet... he thought back to the strange comfort he had felt while in that locker room back at Junon with all those other nameless guards. Even then, when he thought of it, it bothered him. He had felt more in place then, wearing that ShinRa uniform rather than his own clothes, exactly like he now felt more comfortable in his own clothes than he did in that sailor's uniform... It was... incredibly disconcerting.

Shrugging it off, Cloud walked out of the room that he had changed in inside Costa del Sol's resort building. It was, as he had already observed, very exotic. It wasn't quite tropical, but... It was kind of like a small oasis in the middle of a desert.

Downstairs in the lobby, most of the walls were covered in windows, all of which were open, as were all the doors. There was a bar where several people sat having drinks as loud music sounded from a large colorful jukebox. Cloud noticed that one of those drinking people at the bar was none other than Barret... And yet he wasn't drinking anything because of his misery... Rather, he had a large pint of some colorful drink with a tiny umbrella lying on a napkin on the table.

Yuffie was sitting beside him, leaning her elbow on the bar's surface, staring up at him with her head resting on her hand. "Please, Barret! Just _one_ sip!"

He glared at her. "No!"

Cloud rolled his eyes and walked outside to find the others. Yuffie and Barret had already changed out of their disguises, and now he wondered if the others had as well. Almost immediately he saw Red Thirteen sitting on a patio outside, underneath a large umbrella. The large cat glanced up at him miserably.

"We should leave here really quickly," Red told the mercenary as Cloud walked over to him. "The heat is drying my nose."

A tiny smile formed on Cloud's lips. "It is hot, isn't it...?" He glanced out towards the water. Several people were playing in it, either surfing or splashing each other as they laughed. He glanced back towards Red. "Let me find Aeris and Tifa, okay?" The cat nodded and Cloud turned away from him, looking around for the two girls.

As he turned his head, he watched as Aeris walked out from the resort and onto the patio. She was in her pink dress and red jacket again. Her hair appeared to be freshly brushed and braided, and with the sun shining down on her, she appeared to be more and more like an angel. Cloud caught his breath as she saw him, smiled, and walked towards him.

"Hey, Cloud," she said brightly, reaching to take his hands in hers. "It's a beautiful day to get a tan, isn't it?"

"Aeris," he exclaimed as she freed his hands and backed far enough away so that she might outstretch her long, bare arms and spin around several times while looking up at the sun, whose light reflected off her face. "We can't stay here for that."

"No?" she stopped spinning and glanced at him in good humor. "Well, then... When all this ends... And we have time... Let's come back here some day!" She glanced out towards the water. "I wanna lie on the beach and get a tan."

Cloud smiled and nodded. "Okay. We'll do that..." She turned towards him with her own bright smile. He glanced away from her. "We gotta find Tifa..."

"She's over there," Aeris replied, pointing out towards the beach and the water. Cloud started and glanced in that direction. Sure enough, Tifa was standing incredibly still, with her back to them, as she stared out at all the people lying on towels sunbathing.

Cloud frowned and walked towards her, with Aeris at his side. And as they drew near, the mercenary called out to his friend. Startled, Tifa jumped slightly, and glanced at Cloud with a pale face. He immediately realized something wasn't right. "What's wrong?"

"Cloud," she breathed her relief and looked back out over the sea of tanning men and women. "I just... saw someone."

"Who?" Cloud demanded, stepping past her and gazing out in the direction she faced. He feared it might be Sephiroth.

"It's that man from ShinRa," Tifa said instead. She stepped beside him and pointed out the man in question. "Dr. Hojo."

Aeris was immediately at their side as well, staring out towards a man Cloud quickly pinpointed and recognized. Sure enough, he could see the man dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, sitting on a beach chair with sunglasses covering his eyes as he drank some beverage, relaxing under the sun.

"I don't believe it," Aeris whispered. Cloud scowled, agreeing with the Cetra. The man was like fifty eight or something! And he was sitting on a beach staring at dozens of tanning women like some sick pervert! Aeris glanced over at the mercenary. "What are we gonna do?"

"I want to talk with him," Cloud replied, and without question he started towards the ShinRa scientist. Tifa and Aeris glanced at each other for a moment, and then they too hurried after him.

In a matter of seconds they had crossed several yards and were at Hojo's side. The man, sipping his drink from a straw, glanced over at them in slight surprise, but not at all concerned. "What are you three doing here?"

"We could ask you the same question," Tifa shot back, coming to stand directly at Cloud's side, while Aeris hung back a bit.

"Me?" Hojo asked, lowering his drink slightly with one hand while he took off his sunglasses with the other. He stared at her insolently. "It should be obvious. I'm getting a tan."

Cloud's face darkened slightly, and he glared down at the scientist while feeling a wave of dislike sweep through him. "Hojo..."

The scientist looked up at Cloud thoughtfully, recognition obvious in his eyes. "You... I remember you... It's been a long time..." He shrugged and took another sip of his drink. "Sometimes you just gotta do something like this..."

"You're disgusting," Tifa informed him. "Shouldn't you have a wife or something?" ShinRa officials generally did... They were all rich enough to at least attract some money-grabber or something. Though Tifa knew that none of them were probably happy with that kind of family life...

Hojo shot the girl such a hateful glare that Tifa suddenly regretted her question. The expression on the scientist's face frightened her slightly, and Cloud, sensing that, took a step forward and positioned himself between the two. He glared back at the man with equal hate.

"What are you _really_ doing here?" Cloud demanded. For a moment Hojo didn't answer. He just stared at the mercenary, his hate melting off his face so that he looked like nothing more than just an expressionless, emotionless, soulless man.

"Escaping," he finally replied with a shrug. "But in the last half hour I've seen so many familiar faces I doubt that's even a possibility for me anymore."

"What are you talking about?" Cloud demanded. "Who did you see...?" He felt his heart start to pound, and his head started to ache painfully. Cloud grimaced, and Hojo, noticing, looked up at the mercenary in interest.

"Cloud...?" Tifa stared at him in concern. Aeris, too, reached for his hand and held it in hers. Cloud blinked fiercely, and glanced away from Hojo, feeling very uncomfortable.

Hojo bit his lip, glancing from Cloud to Aeris, and then back to Cloud. He sat up and leaned forward, his interest increasing. "You're looking for Sephiroth, aren't you?"

Cloud, Aeris, and Tifa all shot their gazes towards the scientist. The mercenary tensed. "Did you see him?"

Hojo continued to stare at Cloud, and slowly his expression turned cruel, and a malicious smile formed on his lips. "You know I've been thinking a lot. About my past... And certain experiments I ran, and others I thought of but were never given the opportunity to run... Not to mention the countless hypotheses I came up with back then... But now... one such hypothesis has come back to me... Perhaps I'll be given the opportunity to test it after all..."

"What are you talking about?" Cloud asked nervously as the scientist continued to stare at him, almost in hunger...

Hojo stood. He was almost as tall as Cloud was, and taller than both Aeris and Tifa. And though he had originally struck the mercenary as a wimp, now Cloud found himself looking at a man he didn't trust, and somehow, for some reason, almost feared. It was just that expression... That knowing look on Hojo's face, which was twisted cruelly.

"Tell me," the scientist commanded Cloud. "I never would have expected something like this out of a failure, but answer anyway. Do you feel like something is calling you? Is there some place you need to visit?"

Cloud backed away from him slightly, his heart pounding even faster. The last time he had seen Hojo, the man's attention had been focused on Aeris. Now it was focused on him... Cloud did not particularly like that kind of attention... "What?"

"Are you feeling compelled to go somewhere?" Hojo demanded, his voice softening to a low, threatening tone.

"After Sephiroth," Cloud told him, though he couldn't understand why he even bothered to answer the man's questions.

Hojo sat back down on his chair, took another sip of his drink, and continued to stare at Cloud thoughtfully. "I see." He put down his drink and chucked softly. "Well... This could certainly be interesting. You were a part of SOLDIER?" Hojo leaned forward again. "What else do you remember?"

The question sounded familiar to Cloud... But he had no idea why. For a moment he could hear screaming in his mind, and he was suddenly somewhere else.

_"Yes! You were a part of SOLDIER! What else do you remember?"_

_"There was a fire..."_

Cloud felt his mind snap back to the present. Hojo was leering up at him in cruel amusement. Cloud grimaced again. "Stop it..."

Hojo was shaking his head slightly. "Who ever would have thought...?"

"What aren't you telling us?" Aeris demanded, growing bold and stepping up beside Cloud indignantly. "After everything that's happened, the least you could do is answer some of _our_ questions! I have so many! My mother never told me!"

Hojo turned towards Aeris, another subject of his old experiments. "Your mother...? Oh, you mean Infalna! How is she?"

Aeris frowned, and stepped back slightly. "You don't know... She died..." Aeris glanced down sadly, and Hojo stared at her for a moment in surprise.

"I see..."

"Professor Hojo," Aeris looked back up at him, and for a moment, he, too, felt the peace of mind that she so easily offered other people. "Please just tell us _something_! Is Jenova an Ancient? Is Sephiroth an Ancient?" Her voice grew timid with the prospect of her next question. "Do we all have the same blood?"

For the first time in over thirty five years, Hojo felt a spark of decency sweep through him as everything that had happened in his life came flying back to him. Everything he had done to Aeris... Her mother was dead... Sephiroth... Vincent... Lucrecia... He glanced away from them, his shame burning through his heart. _Why must the world be like this...?_

He glanced up at Aeris after a silent moment. "Head west," he told her. Without another word he stood and pushed past Cloud, heading silently back towards the resort. And Cloud found that he was unable to try stopping him.

The three friends turned and watched as Hojo entered the open building and disappeared past its doors. Left alone, for a few more minutes, none of them said a word.

"Cloud..." Tifa finally glanced at the mercenary and broke the silence. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he told her automatically. But neither Tifa nor Aeris bought it. They glanced at each other doubtfully, and then Aeris reached to take both of Cloud's hands in hers.

"I know what it's like," the Cetra told him. "Having that man look at you like that... Like you're nothing more to him than some experiment."

"But why would he?" Cloud asked, turning towards her uncomfortably. "I'm not some experiment... I'm not anything special..." _That was the truth, wasn't it?_ Cloud honestly didn't know...

"But you are," Aeris told him sincerely. When he glanced at her, her face blushed slightly. "Special, I mean... You're a SOLDIER who's gonna save the world from Sephiroth... That makes you very special..."

Cloud gazed at her for a moment longer, than glanced at Tifa. But she wasn't looking at him. She was staring towards the water, seemingly deep in thought.

OOOOOOO

Time found Hojo standing in an upstairs room of the Costa del Sol resort by a window. He was gazing out of it, watching silently as Cloud, Aeris, and their four friends headed away from the beach on foot. Looked like they were going to hike it for awhile.

Hojo was finding it difficult to believe any of this. Everything he had just discovered about Cloud – who he actually did recognize from before... Would it now really happen...? After all of these years? The Jenova Reunion...

_After all, why _else_ would the boy search for Sephiroth?_ For a moment, Hojo found it hard to breathe. He reminded himself of how terribly he wanted to escape all of this... But now... with the prospect of Reunion... It was something Hojo did _not_ want to miss.


	20. The Head of Urban Development

**Chapter Nineteen: The Head of Urban Development**

It was dark in the security office at ShinRa Headquarters in Midgar. _Dark, silent, and slightly cold_, Reeve thought sourly to himself as he moved through the darkness to turn on a screen and slip a tape into a recorder. The screen turned bright white, which hurt his eyes slightly, but he blinked past that and pressed the 'play' button. A moment later, he was analyzing the evidence to a certain theory he had recently come up with.

Only a few days had passed since that fateful night. It hadn't even been a week since, first Avalanche, and then Sephiroth, had broken into ShinRa Headquarters. And though Reeve was no scientist, no psychiatrist, and certainly no strategic expert, several things about that night bothered him. And the most important of which concerned Avalanche.

_This really isn't any of your concern,_ Reeve critically told himself. He was the Head of Urban Development. He had nothing to do with Neo-Midgar, Jenova, the Science Department, or Sephiroth. Hell, Shinra had told him to go on vacation! – which he had never actually been able to do...

However, ShinRa was under new management now. And Reeve, though committed to Urban Development, knew that those who survived in ShinRa were those who took their own initiative and did not prove incompetent in the process. The whole affair concerning Sephiroth and Avalanche may be out of his jurisdiction, so to speak, but that didn't mean Reeve couldn't put in extra hours to see what he could do to contribute to the company as a whole, and thus maybe at least earn some sort of raise... Or at least that's what he told himself. The truth was, he was also kind of bored... Not to mention _beyond_ unsatisfied. If Urban Development was all there was to life, he wasn't sure what made life, as a whole, so damn precious to people. There had to be something else. Something meaningful... He just couldn't find it.

So instead, he found himself sitting quite alone in a dark security room watching a recording of three members of Avalanche, and the short time they had spent in a ShinRa prison cell. Prior research had not offered him much in the way of information concerning the man whose name was Cloud Strife... But the two girls who were with him had plenty of information on their individual files. Aeris Gainsborough, the Ancient. And a certain Tifa Lockheart whose uncle worked for ShinRa. She was the manager of a bar in the sector that had been destroyed that night.

Reeve sighed miserably as he watched the two girls sleep while Cloud kept watch. He fast forwarded the recording until the screen suddenly went blank. But then, a moment later, it came back on with the generators. Cameras, especially the hidden ones, were among the most important pieces of equipment in all of ShinRa. The generators had been designed to keep them running along with the back up lights. And this was where things got interesting.

Reeve watched as Cloud stood up. He frowned as Cloud collapsed, apparently in great pain. What the hell was that about? And then he watched as the prison door opened and Sephiroth himself walked in.

Reeve automatically tensed at the sight of the legendary warrior. It took him several moments to assure his body that Sephiroth was just an image, and not actually in the building with him. That night had been a bloody massacre... When Reeve had first heard about it the following morning, he had hardly believed what had happened. He realized, all too well, that if he had been in that building any longer than he actually had been, he, too, could have died that day. And no matter how much life unsatisfied him, Reeve wasn't quite ready to give it up yet.

Sephiroth had walked into that cell and had placed a sword and several Materia on the ground, all the while staring at the sleeping form of Tifa. He ignored Cloud and Aeris, seemingly uninterested in them. A moment later, he turned and left the cell, leaving the door wide open.

_Why would he do that?_ Reeve wondered as he rewound the tape and watched the scene over again. He had killed everyone else he had come across. Why did he leave Avalanche alone?

Reeve had a theory. But as he had earlier acknowledged, he was no scientist, so his theory was hardly worthy of being called such. All it was was that Avalanche, or at least certain members of Avalanche, were somehow connected more to Sephiroth than anyone else at ShinRa seemed to realize. For crying out loud, the man had killed President Shinra himself! Why would he spare Avalanche? And more than that, why would he let Avalanche out of their cells? Reeve figured that those members of Avalanche would yet have a part to play in this whole affair... And if the Turks couldn't stop them, it might behoove ShinRa to at least find a way to keep an eye on them... And Reeve knew that if he could come up with a competent way of doing so, he may yet gain the new President Rufus's favor... which in itself was pretty powerful motivation.

OOOOOOO

"I'm still not quite sure I understand," Scarlet grumbled as she walked beside Reeve down the twisting corridors of ShinRa Headquarters. She was the only female executive in the business, and she controlled ShinRa Weaponry. This often forced her to work beside Heidegger, but every once in awhile her job ran alongside urban affairs. She and Reeve knew each other well.

She glanced at him with a frown. "Everything about Sephiroth is dangerous. And you are one of the few whose job doesn't have anything to do with him. Why would you want to get involved?"

"Actually," Reeve replied rather sarcastically. "I'm more interested in Avalanche. They did destroy part of my masterpiece, didn't they?"

Scarlet scowled. "You don't have a grudge against Avalanche for what happened to sector seven, Reeve. You've got a grudge against the company."

"I've got a grudge against the dead president," Reeve shot back. "And maybe, if I can prove myself in some way to the new president, he won't completely disregard what I have to say about matters such as sector seven the way Shinra blatantly did."

"Well that's just great," Scarlet said as they came to a stop outside Reeve's personal office. "So you managed to get President Rufus's approval to send in some sort of secret agent to 'keep an eye' on Avalanche just in case the rest of ShinRa's forces prove too incompetent to completely wipe the group off the face of the planet? I'm surprised the president wasn't offended."

"Actually," Reeve shot back. "He seemed to agree that he's surrounded by idiots." Scarlet's face reddened, and Reeve hastened to continue: "Though that's just speculation. He didn't actually say that."

"Right, well," Scarlet shrugged. "If you want to waste your time playing 'espionage', that's none of my concern. I just don't see what you hope to achieve. If anything, we should be spying on Sephiroth."

"In a way, we will be," Reeve told her. "Avalanche is connected to Sephiroth somehow. I know they are. And whatever they learn about him, _we'll_ learn about him, and that'll be an achievement in itself." With that said, Reeve made to open his office door, only to find that it had been tightly locked shut.

He glanced at Scarlet. "What the hell?"

She suddenly blushed and smiled at him sheepishly. "Sorry. That's my fault." She quickly stepped forward to unlock the door. Reeve glared at her in resent as she opened it for him. But when he walked in, that resent skyrocketed.

For in his office, two other figures were apparently waiting for him. Or Scarlet. Or for any other human being that might show the slightest interest in them. One was a grown woman. The other was a little girl. The woman was sitting in _his_ leather chair, apparently in a nervous wreck. The little girl was sitting on top of _his_ desk, completely disorienting the perfect order he kept all his files and papers in that lay on that desk, _while_ drawing on the surface of that desk with a marker! Both glanced up at him in surprise, and while the woman looked terrified by their arrival, the girl's eyes merely widened, and she desperately tried hiding the marker behind her back.

Once again, Reeve spun around towards Scarlet. "What the _HELL_?" He was not generally a sociable person. He hated having uninvited guests in _his_ office, and he was _hardly_ good with kids!

Scarlet's face had turned a deep scarlet. "I could ask you the same thing! Look how young that girl is! Don't swear in front of her!"

"Don't change the subject!" Reeve shouted back. "Who are they and what are they doing in _MY OFFICE_?"

"The woman is Elmyra Gainsborough," Scarlet quickly informed him. "She's the adopted mother of the Ancient."

Reeve spun around to face her, and quickly observed that Elmyra's face had paled several shades. For whatever reason she was here, it was obvious she wasn't here of her own free will. He looked back at Scarlet.

"The girl's name is Marlene Wallace," the woman continued, looking at the child. "I do have some history with both her father and her adopted father, Barret Wallace. And _he's _the one who's in charge of Avalanche."

"I know that," Reeve said through gritted teeth. "But that does not explain what they're doing in my office!"

"Hey," Scarlet snapped. "Just because the Sephiroth incident is taking priority does not mean we still aren't trying to recapture the other Ancient. Though ShinRa has allowed Mrs. Gainsborough the right to live peaceably in the city, our policy never permitted her to actually leave it. So when she was intercepted trying to leave Midgar with the girl, she was brought here. We thought the Turks could use her as leverage with the Ancient... should they ever actually catch up with her."

"And let me guess," Reeve cut in. "They want to use Marlene as leverage with Wallace, right?"

Scarlet smiled and nodded. And Reeve thought he was going to be sick. Why did he even _bother_ sticking around with this godforsaken company? All ShinRa ever managed to do for him was repeatedly _disgust_ him.

"What are they doing in my office?" Reeve demanded once again.

Scarlet shrugged. "Seemed like the most convenient place to put them. You were supposed to be on vacation, and let's face it. Should anyone _else_ try infiltrating ShinRa Headquarters, where would be the _last_ place they would look for these two?"

"The Urban Development Department," Reeve grumbled sourly, glancing back at Elmyra and Marlene. "Great. That's just great."

"And we aren't moving them, either," Scarlet's voice turned low and challenging. "You're just going to have to deal with them being here."

"Fine," Reeve threw up his hands in frustration. "Just as long as they don't interfere in my work." With that said, he walked farther into his office, past both the girl and the woman, and to another door that led into his other room... One that was always locked, with Reeve as the sole possessor of the only key. As he unlocked the door, he glanced back at Scarlet. "I am not babysitting two prisoners." He turned and walked into the connecting room, throwing the door shut behind him and locking it tightly.

Scarlet glanced at Elmyra and Marlene, both of whom looked up at her in bafflement. She shrugged before turning and leaving them there, closing and locking the door behind her. Left alone, Elmyra and Marlene glanced at each other. Elmyra looked even more frightened than before, but Marlene just shrugged it off and started coloring on the table once again.

OOOOOOO

The room that connected off of Reeve's office was a small room in which he often spent his free time. For though Reeve was no scientist, as head of Urban Development, he did know his fair share about technology itself, and was somewhat of an inventor. In this room, he had several computers, several complex pieces of technical equipment, and several 'toys', as he liked to call them. And it would be from this room that he would find his own way to 'keep an eye' on Avalanche.


	21. Miners and Gamblers

**Chapter Twenty: Miners and Gamblers**

Avalanche was presently heading west, as Hojo had suggested they do. Towards a place called Mount Corel. Barret had said something about it being where the one real town west of Costa del Sol lay. It was extremely possible that that was where Hojo had meant for them to go. But as they made the hike, it became increasingly apparent that Barret was dreading every step they took.

After hours upon hours of trekking, they soon found themselves completely gone from any sort of 'exotic paradise', and in the foothills that often came before mountains. These particular foothills were of rough terrain, and as they made their way up into the actual mountains, they were surrounded by cliffs, ledges, dirt, and stone. And though there were patches of trees and plant life, possibly even animal wildlife, the landscape left an impression of barrenness.

As they walked, Aeris, as usual, had a smile on her face. "I think my stamina's starting to improve."

Yuffie glanced sideways at her. "What are you talking about? There's nothing wrong with your stamina."

"You should have seen her trying to keep up with me and Tifa back in Midgar," Cloud told her with a small smile. "She's not very fast."

"Well, maybe not compared to Red," Yuffie shot back, sparing the large cat a quick glance. He looked back up at her at the sound of his name, having a moment before not been paying the slightest attention. Yuffie looked back at Cloud. "There's not a single person here with poor stamina."

Cloud shrugged. "Whatever."

"Careful," Barret meanwhile told Tifa, as the two of them were ahead of the rest, leading the way. "Less they've patched it up since, the trail gets kinda uneven ahead." Not that it hadn't been uneven before, but as they went, Tifa quickly noticed a sudden, drastic increase in the trail's wreckage. The road was in need of serious repair.

She glanced at Barret. "You seem to know a lot about this place. Have you been here before?"

"Long time go," he admitted, reluctantly. Cloud, Aeris, and Yuffie all ended their conversation in order to better listen to the large, black leader of Avalanche. "Hasn't changed much. I mean, sure, there used to be a whole lot more trees, an' all. But the road's the same."

Cloud frowned, gazing at the back of the larger man's head. "You lived here?" _Was that why he seemed so hesitant to guide us here? Had something happened?_

Barret didn't answer. A stranger had suddenly appeared from behind a solitary tree, an axe in his hand. The group halted as the man stared at them in surprise, eyes opened wide in alarm as he took in the sight of such a strange, unusual band of people.

"Hi, there," Aeris said cheerfully, stepping forward to be the spokesperson. She could still clearly remember the welcome they had received in Junon, and hoped to avoid a repeat of that. "Can you tell us if we're close to North Corel?"

The man stared at her for a moment and did not answer. His shock was too great. When he finally could speak, he stumbled over his words. "You're... You're... looking for... North Corel... too?"

"What do you mean by that?" Red Thirteen asked. The man stared at the cat in amazed stupefaction.

"Did you see someone else pass this way?" Cloud demanded. The man glanced at the mercenary, took sight of his glowing eyes, and in a panic, jumped backwards while frantically nodding his head.

"Might have been Sephiroth," Yuffie said, sounding eager. "Last time I saw him, he had the advantage, 'cause I was seasick! This time he won't be so lucky!" She crossed her arms in challenging determination. They all half expected Barret to call her crazy, but he hadn't seemed to hear her. Yuffie frowned, gazing at him in increasing concern.

"Thank you," Cloud told the man quickly, before looking back at his companions. "Let's hurry." He started forward, with Yuffie and Aeris on his heels. Red Thirteen followed with more grace, but for a moment, both Tifa and Barret were hesitant to follow.

A look of misery had returned to Tifa's face. "Why hurry after a murderer?"

Barret seemed to agree. "Why hurry in ta Hell?"

OOOOOOO

North Corel was a small mining town situated on Mount Corel. It had the look of a mining town... All the buildings seemed to be small wooden shacks, there were shovels and other such equipment to be seen, with little modern technology, and plenty of apparent poverty.

The people in the streets were dirty, and the men's clothes all seemed stained, torn, and thin. The women all wore old fashioned dresses, and not even the children seemed able to smile. It was like walking back in time... Especially to Barret.

Presently, as the group made their way into the town square, several people were noticing them. Though that wasn't so surprising. They were a hard group to miss. But many of their expressions darkened, hardened, or paled in shocked alarm, at the sight of the large leader of Avalanche.

Barret seemed awkward and uncomfortable under such expressions of bitter resent or mistrust. He couldn't meet anyone's gaze, and instead looked down at the ground. Cloud didn't think he had ever seen the man like that before. He wondered what was going on...

Suddenly two men walked outside a nearby shed, shovels in hand, laughing at some joke or other. But that laughter ended rather abruptly at the sight of Barret. The large man glanced at them, and his face seemed to fall straight down into some pit of despair.

"I don't believe it," one man whispered, taking a single step towards Barret with wide, surprised eyes. But then his surprise melted into contempt, and he turned angrily towards his companion. "It's Wallace!"

"Wallace?" the other man stared at his friend in disgust. "I can't believe you actually allow yourself to remember his name."

"Hey!" Aeris practically jumped forward, her eyes aglow in anger. It was the first time any of her friends had seen her quite like that before. And none of them knew what surprised them more... Aeris's fiery expression, or Barret's timid one. She glowered at the two men from the shed. "Why would you say something like that?"

The two men stared at the beautiful young woman. The first one smirked cruelly, and glared at Barret. "You mean she don't know what a walking death sentence she's walking around with?" Barret's body trembled slightly, but not out of anger.

"You gotta lotta balls coming back here," the second man told Barret fiercely, lifting his shovel to rest threateningly against his shoulder. "Corel's already a garbage heap 'cause of you. Aren't you responsible for enough people's deaths already? How many others have died 'cause they put faith in you? You gotta come back and claim even more lives now?"

Barret winced and clenched his eyes tightly shut. Images tore through his mind.

_"Biggs, get down!"_

_Gunfire._

_"NO!"_

_More gunfire. Bullets pouring in every direction._

_"Jessie!" _

_A massacre..._

"I'm sorry..." Barret opened his eyes and looked at the two men unhappily. As Cloud observed the whole scene before him, he was shocked to see tears stinging in the large man's eyes.

"Shit." The first man spat at Barret angrily. "Get the hell outta Corel, Wallace." He turned abruptly and walked away from the group. His companion gave Barret one last hateful glare before following after his friend. For a moment, no one spoke. Several people moved, though, though no one in Avalanche was among them. Cloud and his friends found that they were too stunned to move, and they silently watched as the citizens of Corel gathered their children and quietly crept in different directions, away from Barret, and generally into some hut only to shut their doors behind them.

"Let's go," Barret finally whispered, his voice drawn and fragile. "Sephiroth ain't here. We'd know if he were. So he's gotta be at the Gold Saucer. If he ain't gone entirely by now."

"Barret, wait," Cloud softly interrupted, gazing at the other man in concern. "What happened here?"

"Didn't ye hear 'em?" Barret asked, his voice taking on a tone of self-contempt. He still couldn't meet any of their gazes. "It's my fault the town was... destroyed." Without another word, he walked forward. Cloud frowned, and glanced at Aeris. When she looked back at him, he could see tears in her eyes. It made him incredibly sad... to see her so close to crying.

But why shouldn't she cry? Wasn't she as confused and lost as they were? Perhaps even more so, since it would seem the only one left of her kind other than herself was Sephiroth... Wasn't she feeling the same frustration as the rest of them? Out of all of them there, she was the strongest, the one in the most control. For even still, she held those tears back, and instead shot off after Barret, with Tifa at her side.

Cloud, Red Thirteen, and Yuffie quickly followed, and the group left North Corel, heading farther up the mountain.

"Barret," Aeris had reached his side. He did not slow down for her, but instead quickened his pace, forcing Aeris to prove to them all that her stamina was indeed improving. "Barret, please! What happened?"

Finally he stopped. His friends gathered around him, and for a moment all was still. A slight breeze then picked up, and swept around the few trees that grew in the mountains... trees that were aging, decaying, and dying. Like the rest of the planet.

"Sorry," Barret apologized once again. Cloud frowned, wondering what the man was apologizing for.

"What happened?" he asked.

"My hometown used to be around here," Barret informed them. And that surprised them, for they had assumed North Corel had been his hometown.

"What do you mean 'used to'?" Red Thirteen asked gently.

"It ain't here no more," Barret explained, glancing away from them all again. "Heard it got buried." He looked down and shook his head in shame. "In just four years."

"But how could those people say those terrible things?" Aeris asked, her soft voice filled with strong emotion.

"It's my fault," Barret told her, his voice shaking. "All my fault...

_"We used ta be miners. Lived in a town on the mountain. An' one day there was a small meeting at the town hall. Me, the village Mayor, my friend, Dyne, a woman from ShinRa named Scarlet, and several other guys from the town. We were discussing whether we should leave Mt. Corel. We were all in agreement, too, aside from Dyne._

_" 'I am definitely against it,' Dyne had said. 'No matter what! There's nothing to talk about if you're thinking of throwing away our coal! Our coal's been protected for generations! Our fathers, and theirs before them, risked their lives for it! We have no right to throw it all away so easily.'_

_"I had argued. 'But listen, Dyne. No one uses coal nowadays. It's a sign of the times.'_

_" 'Right,' the ShinRa woman, Scarlet, had agreed. 'Everything is Mako, now. It'll be all right, Dyne. ShinRa will guarantee your livelihood once the Mako Reactor is completed.'_

_" 'Listen, Dyne,' I added. 'Our lifestyle is hard on Myrna. I don' want my wife suffering anymore!'_

_" 'I know how you feel!' Dyne assured me. 'I feel the same way, too, damn it! But even so, I won't give away our coal mines!'_

_"The Mayor had seemed so sad about it. 'Dyne... You've got to understand.'_

"Eventually, Dyne was just outvoted," Barret told them miserably. "But there had been an explosion during the construction of the Reactor. ShinRa said it had been caused by a rebel faction, and since it cost so much money, the corporation was kinda pissed.They sent in troops to make an example of the town, 'cause they won' take no crap from no one! Burned the town. Lots of people died."

"That's terrible," Tifa whispered sadly to herself. Barret nodded in agreement.

"But more than the ShinRa," he told them. "I couldn't forgive myself. Never should've gone along with the building of the Reactor."

"That's no excuse," Tifa shot back bitterly. "All of those people agreed to it, other than your friend! It wasn't just you! You can't blame yourself, Barret! We were all fooled by the promises ShinRa made back then!"

Barret hardly acknowledged her. Instead, he looked to Cloud, as if pleading that the mercenary might understand. "That's why... That's why I get so pissed off! Not only did they take advantage of me! But... my wife..." At this point he looked away, his eyes bright with unshed tears. "Myrna... died the day those troops came." Cloud nodded slightly. He knew what it was like to lose someone you loved.

Barret shook his head miserably. "Dyne was my best friend. We was close ever since we was kids." He turned from them and continued up the mountain.

Tifa watched him go. She felt her own misery wrap around her as if it wanted to suffocate her. How could she have known Barret all this time... and not have known any of this? "I never knew..." she whispered. "Barret never said a thing."

OOOOOOO

Farther up the mountain the terrain grew so terribly steep and rough that one could not continue on foot. Instead, a ropeway station had been constructed. It was a system of ropes and pulleys, not to mention Mako, in which a large trolley could ferry people either up the mountain or down the mountain. It was one of many such trolleys throughout the Corel Mountains area that led up to the Gold Saucer, a great arena of activity that almost resembled a year-round carnival of gambling and festivity.

The Gold Saucer was a large, colorfully bright place. There were several large, golden buildings there with large, brilliant spot-lots that danced in all directions. Mt. Corel itself was only one of several entrances leading into the Saucer, and it was really more of a back way in. There were hundreds of people at the incredible fair, and Cloud bet that most of them had never even heard of the small mining town before.

The place was alive that night. With laughter, with music, with games and performances and pure, all around entertainment.

"Wow," Aeris said in amazement, her eyes wide at the sight in front of her. She turned towards her friends with a large grin. "Let's have fun!" She then looked apologetically at Cloud. "I know this isn't the right time to do this. But I think we should all take about an hour to cheer up!"

"I ain't in no cheery mood," Barret replied before Cloud could. "So jes' leave me alone."

"I'm sorry," Aeris told him, but she didn't sound like she had any reason to be apologetic. "That's really a shame." She turned towards Yuffie. "Coming?"

Yuffie crossed her arms with a smirk, and nodded. "We shouldn't let Barret ruin our mood." The two girls nodded in turn and made to head off, but Tifa, glowering, hastened after them and motioned for them to stop.

"Don't you think you're being a little harsh?" she quietly demanded of them while Cloud, Barret, and Red Thirteen watched them huddle.

"We're not trying to be harsh, Tifa," Aeris whispered in return. Yuffie agreed with her.

"You gotta act normal," the teenager informed the older woman. "Otherwise he'll think you're pitying him!"

"Oh really?" Tifa asked, slightly angry. They never seemed to have a problem pitying _her_!

Aeris nodded with a smile and turned towards Barret. "We're gonna go play."

"So play!" Barret shot out in a sudden display of anger. "Shouldn't be messing around. Don't forget we're after Sephiroth!" With that said, he shoved past Yuffie, striding towards the carnival and disappearing into the crowd moments later.

Aeris glanced unhappily towards Cloud. "He seems so mad."

"He'll be fine," Yuffie assured her confidently. "At least he's not all sulky anymore. Anger is definitely more in character for him." She moved to Aeris's side and took the girl's hand in hers. "Come on! Let's go!" She charged off towards the crowds and the games, with Aeris behind her waving back to Cloud, Tifa, and Red Thirteen before turning to run beside the young teenager.

Cloud glanced from the large cat to the other girl. "Sephiroth could be around here somewhere. Make sure you two are careful."

"Cloud," Tifa glanced hesitantly at the mercenary. "Could we go together?" It was not an invitation. Tifa sounded slightly apprehensive, as if afraid of being by herself. But Cloud couldn't say that he blamed her. He nodded.

Red Thirteen stepped up beside them as well. "I too should like to accompany you." Tifa glanced at him with a small smile and nodded. The three of them made their way into the heart of the Gold Saucer.

Everywhere they went there was commotion. People were eating, drinking, playing arcade games, gambling with others, winning money, losing money, spending money, talking, laughing, and simply enjoying themselves.

Cloud, Tifa, and Red Thirteen, however, were not among them. They were not at the Gold Saucer to play. Set apart from the rest, they solemnly searched the grounds looking for signs of Sephiroth. And that was what brought one man's attention to them.

He walked quickly towards them, a grin on his face, though wearing a dark expression underneath. He knew, all too well, that there was trouble afoot. "Hey kids!"

Cloud, Tifa, and Red all turned towards him. The man crossed his arms, glancing from Cloud to Tifa while ignoring Red, presumably mistaking him for some kind of large pet.

"Kids...?" Cloud grumbled slightly to himself.

"I hope you're all enjoying yourself," the man told them in a voice that said I'm-not-stupid-I-know-you're-here-to-cause-trouble-and-I-won't-stand-for-it!

Tifa glanced nervously at Cloud, feeling her heart race slightly. Cloud just rolled his eyes, ready to brush the man off. He glared at him sourly. "And who are you again?"

"Me?" the man smirked. "I built this place awhile back. Name's Dio. I'm the owner here."

"Oh," Cloud frowned. Well that's just great. He was not at all pleased.

"Now you're obviously searching for something," Dio told them solemnly. "And I've had more than one other kid through here searching for something as well. And it hasn't been sitting right by me at all."

Cloud and Tifa glanced at each other in sudden wide eyed interest, and as Tifa glanced at Red, who shared that interest, Cloud looked back at Dio. "Who were they?"

Dio shrugged. "Just kids wearing freakish black capes. They were about your age, and were asking for Black Materia."

Tifa glanced back at Cloud, anxiously. She had never heard of Black Materia before. But it definitely sounded like something Sephiroth would look for. But who were those kids?

"Strange kids, too," Dio continued on thoughtfully. "They each had some number tattooed on their hands." He frowned. "Let's see... There was a one, a four, and then a six."

Cloud stared at the owner of the Gold Saucer in surprise. There were three other kids dressed in black and with number tattoos? How did _that_ fit into _any_ of this? For Cloud felt certain it must, for, like Tifa, he had never before even heard of Black Materia, and it did sound like something Sephiroth might want. And Dio's next words convinced him that they were indeed, without a doubt, somehow connected.

He was staring at Cloud thoughtfully. "I don't know. You just... reminded me of them somehow. Your face... You eyes, perhaps." Cloud looked up at the man with such anxiety that Dio forced himself to laugh out loud just to reassure the younger man. "Look, I'm sorry to have bothered you! I'm sure they've got nothing to do with you, so why don't you two just carry on... searching for whatever it is you're looking for." Dio made a show of rolling his eyes. "It was nice meeting you... uh..."

"Cloud..." the mercenary grumbled. Dio nodded, waved, turned, and strode away from them. Cloud turned towards Tifa and Red Thirteen, both of whom were watching him in excitement. Not necessarily the kind of excitement a person enjoyed.

"Cloud!" Tifa's voice was shaking slightly. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"No," Cloud said, slowly shaking his head. He looked away from her. "I... I think I'm even _more_ confused now."

OOOOOOO

"Come on," Cloud was pushing through the crowd with Tifa and Red Thirteen on his heels. They felt eager to find Barret, Aeris, and Yuffie and share with them the information they had just stumbled upon. Unfortunately, the crowd seemed to be getting denser by the second.

Finally they stumbled out onto a less populated street called Wonder Square. Cloud turned towards his two companions. "Are you two okay?"

"I don't mean to complain," Red Thirteen replied in slight indignation. "But why humans feel the need to gather in such degrading throngs is beyond me."

"Aw!" a new voice caught their attention. "They just like good company!"

Cloud, Tifa, and Red Thirteen all turned to see pretty much the last thing they had ever imagined, even in their _wildest_ of dreams, staring back at them. The first thing they noticed was a large balloon-shaped toy moogle. Moogles were generally tiny pink creatures with two dark pink, dragon-shaped wings. They stood on two feet and were simply adorable. This toy moogle, however, was by far too big, too obese, and obviously a fake. The creature that had addressed them sat perched on top of it, obviously comfortable and at ease as it smugly watched the three of them. It was a cat. A black cat with a white chest and chin. He wore two white gloves, a red cape, and a golden crown. He was by far larger than any normal housecat, capable of standing and walking on two feet, and also obviously able to talk. Cloud, Tifa, and Red Thirteen were all certain that their mouths had all dropped open to the ground in surprise.

The cat chuckled in amusement as he gestured to Red Thirteen. "What? It's not like you've never seen a talking animal before, is it?"

"Oh, we have," Tifa replied, nodding, though obviously still taken aback. "We kind of reacted in a similar way, though, when we met Red Thirteen for the first time."

"I bet," the cat nodded, still amused. "Don't worry. I get reactions like that all the time." He leaned forward, suddenly all business. "Soo. How 'bout it? Want me to read your future?" He suddenly grew very dramatic. "A bright future! A happy future!" But then he suddenly, if it were even possible for a cat to do so, blushed. He glanced back at them and scratched his head. "But don't hold it against me if it's not a great prediction."

Cloud, Tifa, and Red just continued to look at the cat in wonder. They didn't have time for it, but they were just too astounded.

The cat snapped his little cat-fingers. "Oh, sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm a fortune-teller. The name's..." he hesitated for just a minute, but then nodded, quite certain of himself. "Cait Sithe."

Cloud frowned. "You can read the future?" The was more than just a little skepticism in his voice.

Cait Sithe nodded enthusiastically. "You kidding! I can find missing things! Missing people! Anything!"

Cloud glanced at Tifa and Red Thirteen, and they glanced back, both of them shrugging. Cloud sighed and looked at the talking cat. After all... It couldn't hurt to try. "Can you tell me where a man named Sephiroth is?"

Cait Sithe's eyes seemed to be gleaming. "Sephiroth? Okay! Here goes!" He suddenly held up a deck full of cards and shuffled them. A moment later, he randomly pulled one card from the deck and handed it to Cloud.

Frowning, the mercenary glanced down at the words written upon it. "Ordinary luck. It will be an active fortune. Give into the good will of others, and something big'll happen after summer." Cloud glanced at Cait Sithe, his skepticism increasing ever more. "You're kidding, right?"

Cait Sithe crossed his arms and glared resentfully at the mercenary. "Let me try again." He randomly selected another card and handed it to Cloud.

Cloud glanced down at it. "Be careful of forgetfulness. Your lucky color is blue." He rolled his eyes and shoved the two cards back into the cat's hands. "Forget it." He turned towards Tifa and Red, but they had already turned to go.

"Wait, wait!" Cait Sithe held up desperate hands. "Give me another chance! Wait!" He stared after them dejectedly. "Let me try again..."

"We don't have time," Cloud said over his shoulder. Tifa and Red Thirteen both glanced back in impatient annoyance.

"It'll be quick and worth it!" Cait Sithe assured him as he reshuffled his cards. Tifa crossed her arms.

"I hope you aren't gonna make us pay for this," she told the cat sternly. Cait Sithe did not reply as he drew yet another card from his deck and handed it to Cloud.

Cloud glanced down at it and frowned. "What you pursue will be yours. But you will lose something dear." He glanced back up at the cat.

Cait Sithe looked impressed. "I don't know if that's good _or_ bad. I've never drawn a card like that before."

"You haven't?" Tifa asked, skepticism rolling into her own voice. "Those cards are obviously just promotional, witty sayings. There's no meaning behind them. We asked to find Sephiroth, and the cards you draw are completely irrelevant. You're just a fake."

"Well," Cait Sithe crossed his arms again and glared at her. "For being a fake, I'm willing to put an awful lot of stock into my drawings! And to prove that, I'm going to travel with you!"

Tifa's face paled considerably. "What?"

Cait Sithe was staring at the card in Cloud's hand. "I didn't even know there _was_ a card in my deck like that! If I want to grow into a far more proficient fortune-teller, than I feel that I _must_ go with you, simply in order to discover its meaning."

"Um," Red Thirteen looked up at the smaller cat with a frown. "You did hear that we're looking for Sephiroth, right? You do understand what that means, do you not?"

Cait Sithe shrugged. "I'm not particularly worried." He glanced at Cloud. "You're gonna lose something dear, right? Well, _I'm_ certainly not precious to anyone. That means I'm safe."

"You really _are_ willing to put a lot of stock into that card, aren't you?" Tifa stared at the creature in amazement and glanced at Cloud. "We've already agreed to allow Yuffie to tag along. We're not gonna do that _again_ with this thing, are we?"

Cait Sithe hopped up and down on his toy moogle. "You don't gotta choice! You agreed to allow me to read your futures! Well let me read this one! I'm coming with you!"

Before any of them could respond to that statement, the sound of a firing machine gun caught their attention. Screaming followed.

Cloud, Tifa, Red, and Cait Sithe all spun towards a building to their right. There were few other people in the street, for a change, and they, too, turned towards the sudden commotion.

"That gun..." Tifa glanced frantically towards Cloud. "That sounds like Barret's gun!"


	22. The Man with a Gun on his Arm

**Chapter Twenty-One: The Man with a Gun on his Arm**

It was dark within the building from which the screaming and gunfire had sounded. That was among the first things Cloud, Tifa, Red Thirteen, and Cait Sithe noticed as they flew past a door, running without any hesitation after who they assumed _had_ to be Barret. For Tifa was right. The sound of that gun _did_ sound like Barret's, and they should know. They'd been around him long enough to learn the unique resonance that came from his weapon. It was unlike any other, after all.

Worried that he might be in danger, especially since he had gone off by himself, and knowing that Sephiroth might be somewhere in the Gold Saucer, Tifa in particular wanted to find him and back him up.

But as they ran deeper into that darkness, a cold, sticky feeling crawled up Cloud's spine, making him very uncomfortable. He already knew something wasn't right, but the intensity of that feeling heightened. Reaching towards his yellow Materia, he used it to brighten their path.

And yet, he wished he hadn't as they rounded a corner. Tifa, who had been at his side in the lead, let out a sharp cry of surprise and turned away. Cloud stopped short, not to leave her, and just stared at the scene before them, wondering why, in its now familiarity, he should be surprised by it.

Red Thirteen and Cait Sithe cautiously stepped around Cloud and Tifa. What they found were several bodies on the floor. Corpses with large entrance wounds and exit wounds from bullets penetrating their bodies. There was blood everywhere. There was this smell... A sickening smell, and all four of them felt slightly nauseas by it.

"Did Sephiroth do this?" Red Thirteen asked as his body crouched near the floor with his tail and ears drawn down.

"No," Cloud shook his head, his face drawn impassive. He felt a great need to not allow any emotion to seep through, and strengthened his defensives. If this was the way it was going to be... with him finding multiple corpses every time he rounded a corner... he couldn't keep allowing himself to take these deaths so personally. "They're all shot. Sephiroth would never use a gun."

Cait Sithe sighed. "Well, that's a relief. Can you imagine how much _more_ dangerous the guy would be if he _did_ use a gun?"

Tifa spun around towards the small cat in anger, but said nothing as tears stung in her eyes. All she could do was stare at Cait Sithe in disgust as her tears began to fall. And as the cat looked back into her eyes, he regretted the statement.

He looked away from her. "Sorry."

Cloud looked at Tifa dejectedly. He had no idea what to say to her this time. He had no idea how to comfort her. With the number of times he felt he needed to, he would have imagined it would get easier for him... But the more times he saw her cry, the harder it was to think of anything to say that would have any meaning at all. No matter what he told her, it wouldn't make a difference. These people were still dead... And with the way things were going, more would die after them. And Cloud didn't know if he could stop it...

"There's someone alive back there," Red Thirteen stated. He gracefully leapt past the corpses and the blood, landing beside a still man who, Cloud suddenly observed, was breathing haggardly.

He glanced towards Tifa. "It wasn't Sephiroth. He wouldn't have left anyone alive." He tried being gentle with his words. She turned towards him, her tears sparkling in the light of his Materia. There was something ironic in that.

"It wasn't Sephiroth," she repeated slowly. The irony was reflected in her voice. "But that only makes it worse!" She gazed at those bodies, lying so perfectly still, without life, and her own body began to tremble. "It's evidence that there are others, aside from him, who are capable of this!"

Red Thirteen gently nudged the man who still lived with his muzzle. When the man began to stir, the giant cat backed away slightly, and a moment later, the two caught each others eyes.

The man began to violently shake in horror. He looked down at his own body, and saw that he had been fortunate enough to escape with just a bad shot in his leg. It was his own fear that had caused him to faint. No. Sephiroth would never have been so careless as whoever had wounded this man had been.

"Who did this to you?" Cloud asked him quietly as he, Tifa, and Cait Sithe made their way over to the wounded man and the giant cat. The man stared up at Cloud and groaned.

"A man..." the man said in a terrified, sickly voice. "With... a gun... on... his arm..." The man grimaced and turned slightly away from them.

"What?" Tifa asked as more tears formed in her eyes and streamed down her face. A man with a gun on his arm? There was only one such man! Had Barret done this?

"You're going to be okay," Red Thirteen assured the man as he looked back up at Cloud in concern. "You don't think...?"

Cloud's face had blanched white. He slowly shook his head in denial. "I don't... Barret's not capable..." Was he? Cloud looked at Tifa, and when she noticed, she turned away from him, raising her hands to cover her mouth. It had sounded like Barret's gun. They had all, aside from Cait Sithe, recognized it. But none of them wanted to believe it.

"What's going on here?"

The entire group spun around in alarm to see Dio and several other guards piling into the corridor. When the newcomers saw the sight in front of them, they, too, were stunned silent.

Cloud turned towards them and raised his hands slightly. "We didn't do this... None of us have guns."

"Guns are easy to throw away!" Dio snapped, glaring at Cloud in fury. "I knew there was something wrong about you!" He glanced at his guards. "Take them!"

As the guards stepped forward, Cloud reached for his sword. But at the same time, he noticed Tifa, her body still trembling violently, back away. She was strong, and could handle a lot of things, but the thought of one of her best friends turning into a cold blooded murderer was _not_ one of them.

"...Cloud..." her voice shook, as her head shook back and forth. "I can't... I don't think..."

Cloud did not draw his sword. Instead, he made towards Tifa and grabbed her hand. Spinning on his heel, he half guided her, half dragged her down the corridor away from Dio's guards. He heard shouting behind him as Red Thirteen and Cait Sithe followed his lead. The mercenary was slightly surprised with the cat's toy moogle. It zoomed after them like some sort of vehicle. It was surprisingly fast, and Cait Sithe seemed capable of controlling it with extreme ease.

Tifa whimpered slightly as Cloud sprinted around another corridor, forcing her to run as quickly as she could. The two animals were finding it easy to keep pace with the mercenary, but several times Tifa nearly stumbled. She knew she was easily as fast as Cloud was, and that she needed to get it together, but she couldn't bring herself to. She kept picturing those people... and involuntary images of Barret slaughtering them ruthlessly took hold of her mind's sight. She couldn't bear it!

They found themselves running into a large, circular room. Cloud hesitated as he took in the sight of what appeared to be the actual stage of a battle arena. They were standing on the platform in the middle of an empty stadium. Cloud urged Tifa on across it, with Red Thirteen and Cait Sithe behind them. But that was when bright stadium lights suddenly flashed on. Temporarily blinded, the four of them stopped short to cover their eyes.

When they could see again, Dio was behind them, and several guards were flanking them. They all had guns, and almost all of those guns, including the hand rifle Dio held, were aimed at Tifa.

"That's as far as you go," Dio addressed Cloud, but without taking his eyes off of Tifa. His voice was as cold as the hard light reflecting off his eyes. "Those men..." Finally the owner of the Gold Saucer glanced at Cloud. "They were my friends."

"We didn't do it," Cloud assured the other man, fear burning up inside of him. Those guns were aimed at Tifa... Not even he could protect her from all of them.

"And that's why you ran!" Dio snapped resentfully. "You will pay for your crimes." He cocked the gun he held towards the girl.

"Wait!" Cloud stepped forward, frantic, as the other guards followed Dio's lead. "You're making a mistake!" Tifa trembled, as Red Thirteen moved to stand beside her.

"I don't think so," Dio replied coldly. "She will be the first one shot if you do anything to resist."

Cloud glanced over at the girl. She was looking back at him, and he could see how afraid she was. He looked back at Dio. "Then we won't resist."

OOOOOOO

Corel Prison was a desolate place on the other side of the mountain from North Corel. It was not a long ride from the Gold Saucer at all. Situated on the side of a cliff, surrounded by high barbed wire fences, cameras, and jailors with weapons, it made for a hostile environment that was matched by the rugged landscape it was build upon. There were no trees, and no plant-life to speak of. Most everything seemed built upon hard, cold stone.

A van drove Cloud and his friends into the compound. Once again, their weapons and Materia had been confiscated, and their hands, or in Cait Sithe and Red Thirteen's cases, their paws, were in irons.

The van parked and two jailors opened the doors. As they forced their prisoners out of the van, with several other guards behind them, aiming weapons at Tifa in particular, Cloud noticed several other prisoners glance in their direction in curiosity.

"Are all of these people imprisoned for crimes they didn't commit?" Cloud asked, looking back at the man who freed his wrists.

"Don't worry," the guard glared at the mercenary in contempt. "This is just a holding cell. Dio's already sent for a judge. You'll get a fair trial."

"A judge?" Tifa glanced at Cloud in alarm. "The only judges are from ShinRa." Cloud nodded. He had already thought of that little detail. If President Rufus got wind of this, the guy would be _beyond_ ecstatic.

"What's the matter?" the guard who was roughly freeing Tifa's wrists demanded. "Are you guys not quite as innocent as you claim to be?" As soon as Tifa's hands were free, she pushed away from the man and glared at him in misery.

Red Thirteen looked up at him in annoyance. "We were not responsible for the deaths of those people."

"Yeah," the guards seemed both amused and irritated by that. "Save it for the judge." They turned, got back into the van, and drove off. The real jailors then had the large prison fence slam shut after them.

Left alone on a mountainside that felt more like a desert than anything else, trapped inside prison fences, walls, or whatever you would like to call them, and with no apparent way to escape, Cloud turned dejectedly towards his friends. Tifa in particular. "Are you okay?"

She looked away from him and did not answer the question. Instead, she replied: "I wonder what Aeris and Yuffie are doing right now? If they even know what happened."

Aeris and Yuffie... Cloud meant to force himself to smile, but he found that thoughts of Aeris easily brought a gentle smile to his face. He reached for Tifa's hand. "They'll figure it out. We've gotten out of worse before."

She shook her head slightly. "If Barret really is responsible... I don't know if I'll ever be able to 'get out' if this."

Suddenly Red Thirteen shot past them. Cloud, Tifa, and Cait Sithe all turned after the large cat, who paused only long enough to look back at them over his shoulder. "He's here."

OOOOOOO

Red Thirteen was a creature with an incredibly acute sense of smell. And Barret hadn't been that far away to begin with. Near the road on which the van that had driven to bring the group into the prison, there were several small wooden huts prisoners probably slept in or took shelter in during the rain. Red walked up to one and pushed it open with his paws. As he entered, with Cloud, Tifa, and Cait Sithe on his heels, several other prisoners watched in interest, but none of them interfered with the strange new group.

Inside the hut, there were two bunks and a toilet, and that was it. The only other living thing aside from them was one large black man who, upon sensing their arrival, spun around and lifted up his machine gun of an arm. But when he realized who the intruders were, his face paled, and he lowered his arm dejectedly.

"The hell are you three doing here?" he asked, his voice filled with despair. When he glanced at Cait Sithe, his face did not change expression, and nor did his voice. "The hell are you?"

"Cait Sithe," the cat replied.

"Barret!" Tifa rushed forward, her eyes alight with tears again. The man stared at her, and at her tears, but his expression remained as it was. Tifa trembled. "What happened?" Her fists clenched at her sides. "I don't understand!"

Cloud and Red Thirteen walked to stand beside her, and they gazed at Barret coolly. Unfazed, Barret simply stared back.

"We heard that a man with a gun on his arm killed a group of innocent people in cold blood," Cloud told the leader of Avalanche. "And the four of us were arrested for it."

"Damn," Barret looked away from them. "Didn't want none of ya to get involved."

"Well, we _are_ involved Barret!" Tifa snapped, looking up at the man fiercely, but inside screaming in pain. "_I'm_ involved! I've been involved ever since we met in Midgar and I joined you in Avalanche! And I know we may be the only two members left, but as long as we are, we have to protect the planet! That was the last thing Jessie said she wanted!"

Barret recoiled from that, and stared at Tifa as if she had slapped him. The pain expressed on his face only grew more intense, and he looked away.

"She told me not to let ShinRa win," Tifa continued angrily. "And now look at you! It's like you've completely forgotten what you're supposed to be fighting for! The Barret I know would _never_ have killed those people! _Please_ tell me you're still the Barret that I know!"

"Of course I am, Tifa," he told her, looking at her as he tried fighting back his own tears. "I... I didn't kill anyone."

Tifa felt like she was choking as more tears poured down her face. Tears of relief. For if Barret said as much, she believed him.

"Then who did?" Cloud asked gently. "It sounded exactly like your gun, Barret."

Barret nodded, turning towards the mercenary. "I know. I heard it too. But... There's another... Another man that gotta gun grafted in ta one of his arms."

Cloud started at that remark. Tifa, Red Thirteen, and Cait Sithe all studied Barret in interest, silently waiting for him to elaborate. Which he did a moment later.

_"Ya've all seen how rough the trails are on these mountains. Cliffs, ledges, an' all. Is dangerous. But kinda beautiful in the rugged wil'ness. My best friend, Dyne, and I sometimes went camping together up in them mountains. With ShinRa coming to build that Reactor four years ago, we all knew we would be leaving soon, an' Dyne had been so pissed by it all. So I thought we'd go campin' one las' time. Dyne agreed._

_"It was reaching night fall by the time we was heading back. Dyne was finally seeming more at peace with the whole affair. I was feeling good about it, but that ended real quick. A man had suddenly appeared in our path. He told us the town was under attack by them ShinRa soldiers. I had never been so pissed in my life._

_"Me and Dyne raced towards the town. We needed to find our families. I had a wife... Dyne had a wife an' a daughter. We was worried about them. But on the way, we ran into several ShinRa soldiers. The woman, Scarlet, was there, and she ordered 'em to kill us._

_"We resisted as best we could. But we tripped and ended up rolling down an incredibly steep hill that ended at a ledge. I managed to stop rolling before going over it, but Dyne didn't. He fell over an' barely managed to keep hold. I scurried over to the edge to help him up. He fell as I got there, an' I grabbed his hand. I can still remember... how afraid I was of letting go and allowing him to fall._

_"The ShinRa were above me. I swear I could feel Scarlet staring down at us. The hill was too steep for them to sensibly try pursuing us. They'd trip an' roll down after us and fall over the ledge themselves. Didn't want to do that. So I heard 'em aiming their weapons._

_" 'Dyne!' I looked down at my best friend. 'Hang on! Listen to me! You're coming back to the village! Hear?'_

_" 'Yeah!' Dyne nodded, even then able to smile. 'I ain't letting go! Everyone's waiting on us!' He was so close to his own death... An' all he could think about was Eleanor an' Marlene. His wife an' baby girl..._

_"The ShinRa fired their weapons. Sun was setting, an' we's were on the west side of the mountain. Had to a been that. They couldn't have been able ta see, 'cause their aim stunk. The only bullets that actually struck... struck my arm... an' Dyne's arm._

"From then on," Barret told them in that small, musty old prison shack. "I couldn't use my right arm no more. I was depressed for awhile. But then I threw away my artificial arm and got this gun grafted in." He glanced down at it unhappily. "Got a new right arm to get revenge on the ShinRa, who took everything away..."

Cloud glanced at Tifa. She was staring at the floor, her tears drying in her eyes, but still staining her face. She hadn't known any of this. None of them had. None of them had had any idea...

"Back then," Barret continued. "I heard the doc say there was another man who got the same operation as me. But... His was the left arm."

Cloud glanced up at the larger man. "Dyne?"

"Back at the Gold Saucer," Barret said, not answering Cloud's question. "I met a man who said something 'bout me being the second person he'd seen that night with a gun on his arm. I knew the other had ta be Dyne. So I asked 'round. Found out he's been living here. Came ta find him."

Red Thirteen shook his head. "That doesn't make sense. How could Dyne be a prisoner here and at the same time, be up at the Gold Saucer to kill those people?"

"Hey," Barret looked down at the giant cat. "I said he was living here. Never said he was no prisoner. He knows this mountain better 'an anyone else. Probably knows how ta come an' go as he pleases."

"Actually," Cait Sithe jumped in. "I've heard rumors about him. Never seen him for myself before, but there's been talk about it." The small cat hesitated for a moment, then continued. "But he's never killed anyone before."

"Yeah," Barret nodded. "After all... We broke outta ShinRa Headquarters. This place can't be anymore difficult ta escape from."

"True," Cloud agreed. For a moment, no one said anything else. Finally, the mercenary asked: "So what do you plan to do?"

Barret stared straight into Cloud's eyes. Their gazes held for awhile, and Cloud knew that whatever it turned out to be, there would be no arguing with Avalanche's leader. "I gotta 'pologize ta Dyne," Barret finally said. "An' I gotta do it alone."

Tifa glanced up at him, her eyes flashing. "I'm coming with you, Barret. You can apologize alone, but you aren't going alone."

"Tifa," he glanced at her, making to object.

"I'm not so different from you, you know," Tifa told him, her voice growing soft. "Dyne is... Marlene's father, right?"

Barret nodded, looking away again. "Yeah."

"I love Marlene as much as you do," Tifa told the older man. "And I need..." She glanced away from him. "I want to help you through this."

Barret glanced at her. Then he looked at Cloud and Red Thirteen. And from the way they were stubbornly staring back at him, he could tell that they were on Tifa's side. So he gave in to it. He nodded. "Okay."

OOOOOOO

The sun had already set by the time they found the man they were looking for. He was sitting on his knees, his back to them, at the edge of the large cliff the prison had been built beside. He was staring out over it, at the landscape both beneath him and spread out before him. He was not moving. Just kneeling there, in deep meditation. The man with a gun on his arm.

As Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Red Thirteen, and Cait Sithe slowly approached him from behind, Tifa forced herself not to hesitate, not to fall back a step, or show any sign of fear or dread. This man before them was the man who had murdered all those people up at the Gold Saucer. But all the apprehension Tifa felt... she forced herself to push it away from her. She sternly told herself that if she couldn't face Dyne, then she'd never be able to face Sephiroth. But more importantly... She had to be strong for Barret's sake. She _had_ to be.

While Cloud, Tifa, and the two cats held back, Barret tentatively stepped forward. He, for one, felt that he had to do this on his own. That was _his_ best friend kneeling right there, seemingly not even aware of their presence. And all of this was _his_ responsibility.

"Dyne?" Barret asked after a moment. "Is that you?"

Dyne didn't seem to react at all. It was like he hadn't even heard the man. But then, after a few silent moments, and right before Barret was about to repeat the question, Dyne spoke. His voice was soft and eerily calm. It terrified Tifa to think that a man with a voice like _that_ could _possibly_ be the father of Marlene.

"Now that's a voice I haven't heard in years." Dyne slowly stood up, moving with the grace of a cat. He turned towards Barret and stared at the man with eyes that held absolutely no emotion in them. Not yet, anyway. "A voice I'll never forget."

"I always hoped I'd be able to see you again someday," Barret walked towards Dyne almost eagerly. There was nothing he wanted more now than to be reunited with his closest friend. "I knew you were alive somewhere! We had the same operation!"

Dyne glanced down at the gun on his arm, then looked over to gaze at the gun on Barret's arm. Weapons. That was all that was left. Back up on that mountain when Dyne had held on to Barret's hand while ShinRa tried to kill them... They had been best friends. And even still, they were bound together like brothers. The only two men in the world with guns on their arms. Grafted on for the same reason at almost the same time. In a sick way, Dyne thought, it was almost poetical.

Damn poetry. Fury tore through Dyne's body, suddenly stripping him of whatever sanity he was clinging to. He held up his arm and fired and Barret. His friend barely had time to move out of the way, and behind him Barret could sense the cat on the moogle jump towards shelter even as Cloud stepped protectively in front of Tifa.

Dyne's body was trembling in pure anger. When Barret glanced back at him, Dyne realized what would be even more poetical. A friend killing not just his friend... But his brother.

"I hear her voice," Dyne told his brother. Barret stared at his friend in confusion, so Dyne continued. "Eleanor's voice. Begging me not to hate your rotten guts."

"Dyne," Barret took several steps towards the other man, but stopped as Dyne held up his gun again.

"That's why I didn't hunt you down," the man explained coldly.

Barret nodded. "I know I was stupid. I'm not asking you to forgive me." He hesitated for a moment, gazing at his best friend in deep sorrow. "But what're you doing in a place like this? Why ya wanna kill those that ain't even involved?"

"Why?" Dyne very nearly exploded in anger. "The _hell_ do _you_ care for? Are the people killed gonna understand _why_? They're the ones who should. Not you! But they never will! Not now." He shook his head. "I don't _care _what the reason is! All that's ever given are artillery and stupid excuses. What's left is a world of despair and emptiness!"

He took a moment to catch his breath, during which he watched the tears form in Barret's eyes. Dyne's anger swept through him like a torrent, but when he next spoke, his voice was low and threateningly calm. "You still want to hear why? All right. I'll tell you. Cause I want to destroy everything."

Barret stared at Dyne with widening eyes. Had he heard that right? As Dyne saw the dread and anguish forming on Barret's face... as he saw the effect his words were taking on his friend... he smiled cruelly.

"The people of the cities," Dyne continued. "This cities themselves. The whole world. I've got nothing left in it. Corel... Eleanor... Marlene." As Tifa listened to all of this, her eyes threatened to fill with tears once again. This was turning out to be harder on her than she thought it would be. But if it was hard on her... She could only imagine what Barret was going through.

"Dyne." Barret forced his voice to remain steady. On the same level as his friend's. "Marlene is still alive."

Anything that Barret could have said... None of it would have surprised Dyne as this one statement did. The man's face blanched. He stared at Barret in shock. And he had no idea what to say.

"I went back into town," Barret continued softly, staring directly at his friend's face. Dyne was shaking his head slowly, unable to believe it, unable to even _absorb_ it. "I thought she was gone for sure. But I wanted to be by her side till the end anyway. And I found her. Found Marlene."

Dyne's eyes shut tightly as he tried to drown Barret's words out. His daughter was alive! His little girl... There was nothing in the world more precious... His body trembled. Shook violently. How could he not have known? How could he not have _felt_ it? She had been alone all these years... Both of them had been alone all these years... No. _All three_ of them had been alone. His entire family... Separated. And alone.

"She's safe," Barret told him. "Let's go see her together." The hope had returned to Barret's voice. The only thing he wanted... was his friend back. "All right...?"

Dyne's eyes snapped open. He gazed at Barret coldly. "So... She's still alive..." Barret felt his body tense as he realized Dyne was not at all as pleased by this fact as the black man had hoped he would be. Dyne shifted his weight, repositioning his gun before him. "Which means Eleanor is alone all by herself. I've got to take Marlene to her."

"What?" Barret took an involuntary step away from the other man. Tifa felt her heart speed up in her throat.

Dyne nodded cruelly, slowly approaching Barret. "Marlene wants to see her mom, doesn't she?"

"No!" Tifa screamed, unable to bear it any longer. Dyne glanced towards her in slight surprise as she rushed towards him.

But Cloud was immediately behind her, grabbing her by her waist. Letting out an anguished cry, she tried to twist away from him, unable to bear the thought of _anyone_ hurting Marlene. Cloud easily and gently brought her down to her knees, and knelt beside her, holding her in his arms as he glared back at Dyne resentfully.

"No," Barret shook his head, almost as if in some sort of denial. "Dyne, stop it! No one needs to die!" _Marlene least of all..._

"No?" Dyne asked spitefully. "My life's been over ever since then." He aimed his gun at Barret and shot another bullet as Barret, having anticipated this, jumped out of the way.

Cloud half stood, wanting to help Barret but hesitant to step away from Tifa. "Barret!"

"Cloud, you stay the _hell _out of it!" Barret shouted as Dyne glanced once again towards the mercenary and the girl that was still in his arms. Barret aimed his own gun towards Dyne as the man turned back towards him. "This is my problem!" Barret fired his gun, aiming towards the man's shoulder, knowing exactly which direction Dyne would jump in and aiming away from it in order to make his attack easier for his friend to evade. No matter what the circumstance, he didn't want to hurt Dyne.

But there was one thing he hadn't expected. Dyne did not evade the attack. He didn't even _try_ to. He simply stood there with a small smile on his face as the bullet tore through his shoulder. The impact of it sent him flying backwards and onto the ground. He ended up lying on his chest at the very edge of the cliff, blood soaking from his wounded shoulder.

For a moment, no one moved. Barret could not believe what he had just done. Cloud and Tifa, still side by side, gazed at Dyne's motionless form, stunned. Red Thirteen and Cait Sithe's ears were all pressed down, as were their bodies, Red's against the ground, and Cait Sithe's against his moogle's. And Barret found that he could not breathe at all.

"Back then," Dyne said as he pushed himself painfully up onto his hands and knees. "It wasn't just my arm. I lost something irreplaceable. I don't know where I went wrong." He sat up and fell back onto his calves in a kneeling position. He glanced dejectedly at Barret.

Barret himself was trembling again. "Dyne... I don't know either, man." He shook his head sadly as tears formed in his eyes. "Is this the only way we can resolve this?"

Dyne nodded sadly. "I told you. I want to destroy everything. Everything. This crazy world. Even me."

Anger poured out of Barret's heart. "And what about Marlene? What's gonna happen to her?"

"Think about it, Barret," Dyne said, his voice suddenly filled with reason, as he looked down at the ground beneath him. "How old was Marlene back then? Even if I did go to her now, she wouldn't even know me. And what's more..." He looked up at his best friend and brother. "These hands are a little too stained to carry Marlene anymore."

Barret shook his head, but no words came from him. Using his one good hand... His right hand... Dyne pulled off a necklace he had been wearing. It was of a small pendant. A unique pendant that Dyne had made himself a long time ago, and that Barret immediately recognized. It had been for Eleanor. Dyne had never been given the chance to give it to her.

He carefully placed it on the ground in front of him before looking back up at Barret. "Give it to Marlene."

Barret nodded sadly. He wanted to say no, that he would not, that it would be Dyne's responsibility to give it to his daughter. But when he opened his mouth, only the words "All right" came forth.

Dyne leaned backwards slightly, thoughtfully even, as a smile formed on his face. And not a cruel smile, either. It was a true one. "Wow. Marlene must be so big, now. I can't even imagine..." He glanced at Barret. "Out of everything you do, don't ever..." His words choked there, and Barret realized that Dyne was crying. "Don't ever make Marlene cry."

"Dyne...?" Barret stepped towards his friend in concern. Something wasn't right... "Dyne?"

As Barret and his companions watched, Dyne turned away... and suddenly shoved himself off over the edge of the cliff.

"NO!" Barret screamed, rushing forward. But he did not get there in time. Even if he had, like before, he would have been unable to prevent Dyne from falling.

OOOOOOO

Hours later it grew dark. The blackness of the night was deeper than in any pit Cloud could think of as he walked outside alone. For though there were lights that brightened the prison complex at this late hour, they just didn't seem to take any of the darkness away. All they seemed to do was simply add more shadows to it all.

He moved silently and quickly until he came back to the cliff where Dyne had fallen. Barret was still there, sitting by the ledge, holding his friend's pendant in his one good hand as he gazed out into the distance.

"I finally got Tifa asleep," Cloud told the leader of Avalanche as he sat down beside the man. "Though I'm worried... Without Aeris nearby, it's very likely she could have nightmares tonight. Red Thirteen and Cait Sithe volunteered to watch over her."

Barret nodded, dully. "Tha's good."

"You know," Cloud said, after a few minutes more passed by in silence. "I get... so wrapped up in my own problems... my own enemies... Sometimes I forget that the people closest to me suffer as well. For different reasons, that's true... But it doesn't mean that the pain they feel is any different." Barret didn't answer. He just looked down and closed his eyes tightly against his tears.

"I know you now," Cloud continued, glancing down as well. "Before, I didn't... I didn't understand you. I thought... you were amateurish and kind of just in completely over your head, fighting for something not worth fighting for. I got angry at you for saying things about me when you didn't know the first thing about me. Now I realize I did the same to you. I didn't know you, then, Barret. I didn't know anything about you at all, and so I misjudged you. But I think... I get it now.

"So I guess what I'm trying to say," Cloud went on, looking back at Barret. "Is that you aren't alone. Even if Dyne's gone... we'll all still be here for you... Especially Tifa. Especially me."

"I jes'..." Barret shook his head, still unable to bring himself to look at the mercenary. "Can't stop thinking... Me an' Dyne were the same. My hands ain't any cleaner. They shouldn't be able to... carry Marlene either."

"Stained hands can be washed, Barret," Cloud said, looking out across the land beneath them. "If you don't carry Marlene, who will?"

"Aeris could," Barret shot back. "And Tifa... I'd trust Marlene with either of them."

"You're not going to give up, are you?" Cloud asked. But Barret shook his head.

"Set out ta save the planet," Barret finally glanced over at the mercenary. "I owe that to Myrna, to Eleanor, and especially to Dyne. It ain't something that's not worth fighting for."

"Good," Cloud stood up and motioned for Barret to do the same. "We need to get some sleep tonight. We're going to need it if we're gonna bust outta here tomorrow." Barret nodded, and pushed himself up to his feet.

OOOOOOO

As it turned out, however, the group found that they did not need to 'bust out' the next morning. For as they made their way out of the small wooden shack, they found that Dio and several other guards were waiting for them.

"What's going on?" Cloud asked, leading his friends towards the owner of the Gold Saucer.

Dio's face was hard and stressed, and it was obvious that he was mourning for the loss of all those men. And yet at the same time, he managed to look ashamed. "I spoke with the man that survived... He told me that none of you were involved in the murders."

"Well that's a relief," Cait Sithe shot back somewhat bitterly. All right. _Very_ bitterly. He crossed his arms and stared at Dio resentfully. "We could have been _killed_ down here!"

Dio nodded. "And for that, I am most sorry. Please understand... Those men were my friends. They had died, and... I guess I suffered from temporary insanity." He looked away from them, and they all recognized the pain he was in. For a moment, no one spoke as another van pulled into the prison complex.

"S'okay," Barret assured the man. "We've all lost people... We all know what it feels like... We don't blame you." Cait Sithe glanced at Barret in surprise, but, letting out a small sigh, he did not object.

"We're very sorry for what happened," Tifa assured Dio. "And I promise you. We're gonna work really hard to make sure similar tragedies don't have to happen in the future." Cait Sithe then glanced at Tifa in surprise, but again, he did not say anything. Tifa stared at the ground. "We really want things to be different in this world. We want them to be better. So that..." She glanced over towards Barret. "The children don't have to live in a world like the one we live in."

_That's right,_ Barret thought to himself. _Gotta save the planet... Gotta help defeat Sephiroth... So Marlene don't have to live with the consequences if we don't._

"I hope you succeed," Dio told Tifa as he handed Cloud an envelope. At that moment, the van, which had parked not far from them, opened its doors and two girls piled out. As the group turned to watch, Aeris and Yuffie raced towards them. And Cloud, nor any of his friends, could help but smile at the sight.

"Are you guys okay?" Aeris demanded when they reached them. "We just found out you were down here!"

"Stupid freaks!" Yuffie scowled and crossed her arms, glowering at them. "We were looking for you everywhere! We were worried sick! Next time y'all get arrested, be sure to leave a note!"

"And what's even worse," Aeris said with a laugh. "They're letting you out for free! We were gonna plan a daring rescue!"

Cloud glanced at Tifa and Barret in puzzlement. "Are we supposed to apologize or something?"

"No," Yuffie assured him. "Just promise that the next time you run from the law you don't get caught!"

OOOOOOO

As the van drove the group out of Corel Prison, Cloud opened the envelope that Dio had given him and read the letter inside.

_"Dear Cloud... I would once again like to apologize for the trouble that I have caused you and your friends. I feel like I owe you something for my mistake, so I shall offer you a mountain truck that you can use on your journey. I offer you my best of wishes, and a small piece of advice. I know you are looking for something. Something that may involve the Black Materia. I have heard rumors that, aside from those other children I mentioned earlier, a man named Sephiroth also searches for it. Word is he's headed towards a town called Gongaga. If you choose to follow him, do be careful. And please do not hold against me the night that I put you and your friends through. Sincerely, Dio, of the Gold Saucer."_

Cloud felt his heart speed up and he glanced quickly at each of his friends. Aeris frowned and leaned towards him to better see the letter.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's Sephiroth," he told them, his voice drawn and quiet. "He's heading towards Gongaga!"


	23. The Broken Reactor

**Chapter Twenty-Two: The Broken Reactor**

The truck Dio had offered them was made for driving through the mountains. It was big, four wheeled, and durable. There was plenty of room for the seven companions to sit inside, with both front and back seats, and with Cloud behind the wheel. Aside from Cait Sithe, who had never seen Yuffie drive, the entire group had, to the girl's disappointment, voted unanimously that she should not take the wheel.

And so they drove even farther west, before turning towards the south. Gongaga was a town at the foot of the mountain range far from North Corel. It was really only known for the Reactor that was built there. An old one, maybe, but if Sephiroth were headed there, it could be possible that the Black Materia was there. Cloud still wondered about the significance of the Black Materia... What was it and what did it do? Why did Sephiroth want it? And was it possible that the Reactor at Gongaga could harbor it?

As the hours passed while the group drove towards their destination, they did not voice any of their questions out loud. They knew that none of them possessed the answers, and asking questions only tended to lead to even more questions. And none of them were in the mood to put up with _that_ kind of headache.

Instead, Aeris and Yuffie made light conversation with Cait Sithe, getting to know him and getting their fortunes told. The cards the tiny cat picked for them were generally amusing, and they laughed, the three of them together. But only Aeris's laughter sounded completely carefree... as it always did. Cloud listened to it with a smile on his face. He didn't say anything to interrupt, and didn't even look their way. He kept his eyes fixed on the road, as did Tifa, who sat in the front seat beside him. But both of them listened to every sound Aeris made. Her laughter was like music. Music they could listen to for the rest of their lives. It was comforting.

"Read Barret's future!" Yuffie suddenly suggested, glancing over towards the large man mischievously. Barret glared at her with a large frown and crossed his arms, which caused Cait Sithe to hesitate.

"Oh, don't be like that, you two!" Aeris objected, looking from the large man to the tiny cat. Her eyes were alight with joy. "It's fun, and he's doing it for us for free!"

"Remind me why I'm doing that again?" Cait Sithe leered at her with feigned petulance. But it was obvious to all that something about this particular road trip with these particular two girls amused the cat to such an extent that he felt he was being paid in full.

"Like she said!" Yuffie explained with a wink. "It's fun!"

Cait Sithe sighed and rolled his eyes. He glanced at Barret, shuffled his cards, and then randomly selected one. He handed it to the large black Avalanche leader, who accepted it very reluctantly.

Barret glanced down. "If ya wanna find success 'n life, never misplace ya rhythm." Barret looked back towards Cait Sithe skeptically. "Wha's 'at mean?"

"It means we need to pull the truck over!" Aeris exclaimed excitedly. "So that Barret can get out and dance for us!" Barret's face reddened at such a thought and he hurriedly shoved the card back into the feline's card deck.

"Or," Tifa suggested softly for only Cloud to hear. "We could get him to blow up that Reactor in Gongaga."

Cloud smiled and glanced at the girl beside him. "Still think the cat's a fraud?"

Tifa shrugged. "Maybe not. Definitely a wannabe." She glanced towards him. "Though I'm still wondering why we brought him along."

"What are you guys whispering about up there?" Aeris demanded, feigning offense. "There shouldn't be any secrets in the truck, you know!"

Cloud finally glanced back towards her with a smirk. "We were just wondering if Barret would prefer more modern music, or something classical." Tifa smiled and looked down as the two girls in the back burst out giggling while Barret's flushed face even darker.

"Ya want _classical_?" the Avalanche leader shouted at Cloud. "How 'bout a classic tragedy wit _you_ getting' ya ass kicked?"

Cloud looked back towards the road and kept driving down it as he shook his head in amusement. "Glad you're feeling better, Barret."

OOOOOOO

Gongaga was a small, backwater village that was not quite the size the group had expected it to be. Everything about it made North Corel appear modern and upper class. The houses were small and wooden; the road, which had faded into dirt way back up on the mountain, was in serious need of gravel; and there wasn't any sign at all of any kind of modern luxury.

But on the bright side, as Cloud parked the truck and the group piled out, when the villagers who lived there turned to stare at them, their expressions were not of bitter resent. In fact, they even looked slightly welcoming.

One elderly man hobbled his way over to Cloud. "Are ye part of the excavation team?"

Cloud glanced towards his friends, all of whom looked back in equal bafflement. The mercenary shrugged. "No, I don't think so. Are you expecting one?"

"Aye," the man nodded eagerly. "To assist the ShinRa in tearing down that Reactor once and for all."

"_What_?" Barret demanded, stepping forward in shock. "_ShinRa's_ tearing down their _own_ Reactor? What the hell for?"

The man's face darkened slightly as he glared at Barret in disapproval. "We don't sympathize with those who use Mako energy."

"Oh, neither do we," Aeris said lightly with an assuring smile on her cheerful face. "Don't mind Barret, sir. He's just surprised because we've been working so hard to get rid of our own Reactors, and with very little success."

"Oh," the man's face brightened as he accepted that answer. He smiled at Barret. "Pardon my misunderstanding."

"I don' care about that!" Barret declared unhappily. "Wanna know what the big idea is!"

"Of course," the man nodded. "The Reactor no longer works in Gongaga. So the ShinRa have decided that they would profit most by simply relocating it and digging out whatever Materia they can find."

Cait Sithe hopped forward, slightly concerned. "And you guys are okay with them doing that?"

The man nodded. "Aye. In fact, we are all eager for them to remove that waste. In this town, we do not condone the use of Mako, or any other modern technology."

"I've noticed," Cait Sithe grumbled in a voice that said: Your loss. Barret and Tifa both took turns glowering at the cat in disapproval. He looked down, slightly repentant.

"How'd it stop running?" Barret asked, looking back at the old man.

The man shrugged. "The Mako supply around here never was that good to begin with. It didn't help matters that three years ago the Reactor exploded. Ever since then, no one in Gongaga would use the Mako, or help with the mining of it."

"I wonder why," Red Thirteen grumbled softly. "Mako Reactors have a tendency of exploding."

"The old ones had some faulty pipelines," Cait Sithe informed them. Everyone looked at the cat in surprise, and he looked back with wide, innocent eyes. "What? Can't a guy know some trivia?" For a moment, no one spoke.

But then the elderly man shrugged it off. "Anyway. ShinRa's been expecting an excavation team to help with the digging. I was hoping you were them."

"Are they due here soon?" Tifa asked, sounding slightly nervous. She glanced towards Cloud in apprehension.

The man nodded. "They were due yesterday. The ShinRa already here are growing slightly impatient."

"ShinRa's already here?" Cloud asked, as half the group grew tense with such sudden information. Only Aeris, Yuffie, and Cait Sithe managed to remain at ease. Yuffie actually seemed ecstatic.

"That's great news!" she stated gleefully. "Who better to steal Materia from!" She grinned at the stupefied elder. "Where's the Reactor?"

"Uh," he scratched his head with one hand and pointed down the road, farther south, with his other.

"Thanks!" she said before bolting down towards it. She paused only long enough to half turn back towards her friends and wave her arm, motioning for them to follow. "Come on! Let's go, let's go!"

Aeris brightened. "Okay!" She raced after the young teenager enthusiastically. Cait Sithe, however, was frowning, and he looked up at Cloud in confusion.

"You guys steal Materia?"

"Of course we don't," Cloud assured the small cat as he turned to follow the two girls. "Yuffie's exaggerating." That statement was more for the benefit of the old villager beside them than for Cait Sithe. For Cloud had a strange feeling in his stomach that if the young teenage girl wanted to steal Materia from the ShinRa, Yuffie probably was both perfectly capable and willing to do so.

OOOOOOO

The trail leading down to the Reactor was a small twisting one that was actually worse than the road had been. Cloud and his companions quickly caught up with Yuffie and Aeris, though both of them had lessened their pace to allow them to do so.

There were several old trees on this side of the mountain range, and it felt like they were walking through an old, worn out forest facing its last few days on the planet. It seemed so sad to all of them, even Yuffie, so that any excitement concerning the prospect of any encounter at all with the ShinRa lost a lot of its flavor for them. The planet was dying. They could see that here. It was no wonder that the people of Gongaga had sworn off Mako energy.

There was a bend in the pathway ahead of them, and several old trees and shrubs blocked sight of what lay around it, but they could all hear voices. Cloud frowned. _Had they reached the Reactor already?_

As they silently neared the bend, they paused to listen to those voices. And while they did so, at the same time, they pressed against some trees or huddled down below some shrubbery so that whoever it was speaking might not notice their presence. But then, when half the group recognized the voice of who it was actually speaking, they found it much more difficult to keep themselves concealed.

"What are you getting so embarrassed about?" they heard Reno of the Turks demand. Cloud glanced at Tifa and saw that her face had turned beat red. Reno continued speaking in that obnoxiously suave voice of his. "Come on, Rude. Who do you like?"

They all strained to hear the reply of the larger, quieter Turk, but though they heard him speak, they could not make out what he had said.

"Really?" Reno sounded surprised. "Me too, kinda. But... Poor Elena. Always got the impression she liked you."

"No!" Rude's voice suddenly got defensively loud. "She likes Tseng!"

"Really?" Rude asked again, thoughtfully. "Never knew that. But Tseng likes that Ancient."

Every one glanced towards Aeris, whose face had flushed in embarrassment. But they didn't say anything.

Suddenly they heard someone approaching quickly and rather blatantly from behind them. As they turned in surprise, they heard a woman shout even as she took form on the trail beside them: "If you two are still on that same conversation, I swear I'll-" the Turk, Elena, stopped short when she saw who was in front of her. They could all tell that behind those sunglasses she was wearing, her eyes had widened in surprise.

"Uh oh," Yuffie quirked as the group slowly positioned themselves in a way so that their backs were not turned to either Elena or to Reno and Rude, both of whom had casually walked back towards their ally in order to greet her.

"Hey," Reno observed as he and Rude took sight of Avalanche. "They finally made it here."

"What's _that_ supposed ta mean?" Barret demanded, crossing his one good arm with his gun arm.

Reno didn't answer. Instead, he glanced towards Elena. "Maybe you should go report this to Tseng."

"Right," Elena nodded, slipping off the trail so that she could circle wide around Avalanche. But no one would have stopped her had she tried passing them on the trail. Cloud personally didn't think these three particular Turks were even worth their time.

"You shouldn't get in our way," Cloud told Reno in a low, threatening voice. But Reno was ignoring him.

In fact, his gaze was on Tifa. "Hey, baby."

Before a second could pass by, Tifa was practically in the air. Cloud had seen it coming. But unlike the last time she had been offended by the Turk, he was now perfectly fine with allowing her to kick Reno's ass. She appeared in front of him before he even realized she had moved, and she spun around, savagely throwing up her leg and whipping it against the side of his neck. The force of her attack sent him sprawling to the ground.

Rude was instantly at her side, towering over her and throwing a fist down towards her own neck. Tifa lifted her arms to block his. Then she jumped, tossing up a leg as she arched her back. She threw herself into a back handspring, flipping away from him as he literally fell onto his face in the dirt. Tifa landed squarely on her feet as she tossed her long hair out of her face, not even slightly winded.

She glared at the two men lying on the ground with some satisfaction. "Thanks. I needed that." Cait Sithe's mouth had practically dropped open. He had never seen her fight before, and he was clearly impressed.

Reno and Rude both sat up and glanced at each other. Then Reno glanced at Cloud. "Yeah well... We may be about to retreat, but..." The two Turks stood up and Reno brushed himself off. "We're still victorious." With that said, he and Rude turned and bolted along the trail after Elena.

"Nice going, Tifa," Yuffie said with a grin, nodding at the older woman. "Gotta hand it to ya. You kicked ass."

"They had it coming," Tifa replied softly. "And it was long over due."

"But I don't understand," Red Thirteen grumbled as he stared down the trail after them. "How they weren't surprised when they saw us. It was like they knew we were coming."

Cait Sithe sat up straighter at that remark, and stared at Red Thirteen in some concern. "Wait! ... Do you think we were followed?"

"I don't think so," Cloud shook his head, though he, like the rest of them, had suddenly grown apprehensive. "There weren't any signs that we were followed."

"Maybe we're being spied on," Yuffie stated openly. Everyone glanced at her in surprise, and she shrugged. "Hey. It's a legitimate possibility."

Cloud shook his head. "I don't even want to _think_ about that." He glanced at each of his friends in turn. Barret, who had sworn to protect the planet from the ShinRa, who were killing it. Tifa, his best friend, who hated ShinRa for the same reason he did. Aeris, an Ancient who was a fugitive running _from_ the ShinRa. Yuffie, a teenage girl who just wanted to restore honor to Wutai, her home, which the ShinRa had defeated. Red Thirteen, a rather sophisticated creature that the ShinRa had experimented on. And finally Cait Sithe, a fortune-teller, who didn't even know what _half_ their journey was even about. There was not one among them who even _resembled_ a spy. He shook his head again. "I trust everyone here."

"Yeah, well," Cait Sithe crossed his arms. "If one of us _is_ a spy, than I think it would be very obvious to you that he or she or whatever would be _aiming_ to get the rest of us to trust him or her."

"Cat's gotta point," Barret agreed sourly, as he, too, studied intimately each individual in the group.

"Oh stop it, you guys!" Yuffie interrupted bitterly. "When I said that I was just kidding! I don't seriously think that one of you is a spy!"

Aeris turned pointedly towards Yuffie with a small smile on her face. "But Yuffie... What if _you're_ the spy?"

The teenager rolled her eyes. "Oh please. You're all being _ridiculous_!" She turned and raced down the trail after the Turks.

Barret crossed his arms with a huff. "Should we take that as a confirmation?"

"Come on," Cloud replied. "We better go after her before she walks into an ambush or something."

OOOOOOO

When they neared the Reactor, they slowed their pace and remained in the shelter of the dying trees to do a little of their own espionage. For as they stared out towards the clearing in which the broken Reactor had been built, they found themselves taking in the sight of none other than Scarlet of the ShinRa Weapon Development.

The woman was in the company of Tseng of the Turks, as well as Reno, Rude, and Elena, the latter three of whom looked slightly anxious about something, though Cloud was fairly certain he knew about what.

"Ma'am," Reno said, taking a slightly timid step forward. He had just gotten thrown into the dirt by one woman, and he wasn't looking for that to happen a second time. Though as Cloud watched him, he thought that the Turk's behavior was hurting his dignity more than getting beaten by a girl again would ever hurt his pride. "What I am trying to say is-"

"Shut up!" Scarlet snapped irritably. She was sitting on the ground in front of several pieces of Materia, some of which were in the shape of tiny orbs, others reaching the size of decent sized boulders.

As Cloud watched, his eyes were drawn farther out into the clearing, where he noticed a parked helicopter. Keeping it in mind, he looked back towards Scarlet and her Turk companions.

"In case you don't realize," she told Reno coldly. "I am on a deadline here! Reeve may be a stupid idiot, but he does have one point." She glowered down at the Materia in front of her. "ShinRa's under new management. If we want to further our careers, we _must_ please President Rufus. Now, with Hojo gone, the Weapon Development Department is getting a bigger budget, and I am not _about_ to look like an incompetent fool wasting it!" She stood up and angrily kicked a piece of Materia away from her.

Tseng glanced apologetically at his three employees. "The Materia here isn't proving suitable. President Rufus is looking to make the perfect weapon, but to do so, he needs Huge Materia. There isn't any here."

"Of course, sir," Reno nodded. "But that Avalanche group _is_ here! Last time we dealt with them, there was only like, what, three of them?"

"Five, actually, if you count Aeris," Tseng replied.

"Well, sir," Elena spoke up. "Now there are seven." Tseng frowned, and glanced around at his own companions. Counting Scarlet, _they_ only numbered up to five! Six, if you counted the pilot in the helicopter, but _he_ couldn't fight for _anything_.

"Well, that's perfect," Scarlet muttered. "They're multiplying."

"I think we should go, Scarlet," Tseng told the other executive. "There's nothing here worth protecting anyway."

She sighed and glowered up at the Reactor resentfully. "Those people are expecting this piece of junk moved out of Gongaga." She glanced at Tseng cruelly. "Well, if they want it gone so terribly, they can remove it themselves." She turned towards the helicopter. "Junky Materia from junky Reactors. Forget it not being worth protecting, it's not even worth my _time_!"

Reno and Rude followed after her, though Tseng turned slightly towards Elena. Scarlet's words had caused the novice Turk to grimace, and she was staring after the Head of Weapon Development bitterly.

"Tune it out, Elena," he suggested. "Then you'll get used to her after awhile." Elena glanced at him in surprise, then nodded.

"Yes, sir."

The two of them made off after the others towards the helicopter. Cloud and his friends waited for it to rise into the air and fly off before they moved out of the cover of the trees. But as soon as the copter was well on its way, Yuffie bolted forward like a child racing towards a pile of gifts. She headed eagerly straight towards the Materia.

"I don't know _what_ that witch was talking about!" the teenager proclaimed as she fell to her knees before the Materia that Scarlet had been inspecting. "This is a pure jackpot!"

"How about that," Aeris said with a smile as she approached the Materia with more grace. "You weren't having any luck at all at the Gold Saucer, Yuffie. You finally found a prize."

Meanwhile, Cloud glanced up at Barret. "You okay?" Tifa, Red Thirteen, and Cait Sithe all looked over at the leader of Avalanche in concern, all of them remembering the part that Scarlet had played in Barret's past.

But Barret was nodding. "Yeah. I'm more concerned about _wha'_ she was doing here rather than jes' the plain fact that she _was_ here." The five of them walked over towards Aeris and Yuffie. The teenager was hungrily sorting through the Materia while Aeris sat down to watch her.

"We can't take all the Materia, Yuffie," Tifa sternly told the girl. Both Yuffie _and_ Cait Sithe turned towards the woman in surprise, their expressions clearly asking _why_? Tifa crossed her arms. "Don't look at me like that. We should only use the Materia we _need_. We aren't like ShinRa. We aren't gonna waste it."

"Leaving it here would be a waste," Yuffie grumbled in disappointment, but she didn't argue any further.

"I wonder what ShinRa's planning," Red Thirteen stated. "Huge Materia? I wonder if that's related to the Black Materia."

"I wonder what kind of weapon they're planning on building," Cloud said, thinking back to the Junon Cannon. Rufus was turning out to be a lot more militaristic than his father had been.

"No kidding," Aeris agreed, standing up. "But I really feel bad for the people here. ShinRa's obviously not going to be removing anything for them."

"There's nothing we can do about that," Tifa said. "Other than just informing the villagers about it."

"I don't think Sephiroth is here, either," Cloud stated. "Scarlet obviously didn't find any Materia that impressed her, so it's likely Sephiroth didn't either and has already moved on."

"Where do you think he went?" Red Thirteen asked as Yuffie stood up, tying her chosen pieces of Materia to her own belt.

"No idea," Cloud shrugged. "Could be anywhere."

"Well, we know he's looking for Black Materia," Aeris put in helpfully. "And the ShinRa are looking for Huge Materia. It seems this is all centered around that. Maybe we should head to other towns with Reactors and see if we can find anymore clues." Everyone glanced towards her in surprise. It made sense.

Cloud smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a plan. We should get back to the truck." But before he made back towards Gongaga, he glanced at Yuffie. "How's the Materia?"

She grinned. "Scarlet's gotta be the dumbest member of ShinRa!"

OOOOOOO

As Cloud drove the truck out of Gongaga, Aeris turned in her seat to look back out the rear window. She watched as the village faded behind them. That town... Long ago, Zack had mentioned it to her. It was where he had grown up. She had always wondered if she would ever be given the chance to see it for herself. But back then... she had always imagined Zack as being the one to take her there.

Aeris sighed and turned around, leaning her back against the seat. She wondered where life had taken Zack over all these years. And if she would ever see him again. If she ever did, she thought to herself, it would be really awkward, because she was starting to really, really, like Cloud.

Yuffie glanced at her sideways. "Are you okay?"

Aeris looked back with a smile and a nod. "I was just thinking... I hope those people get rid of the Reactor somehow. It's what they want, right?"

"Sure," Yuffie agreed. "And don't worry. If that thing's still there after we kick Sephiroth _and_ ShinRa's butts, you and me'll come back here and tear it out of the ground ourselves, okay?"

Cait Sithe glanced towards Yuffie in surprise, as if that were the _last_ thing he would have ever expected coming out of her mouth. He was even more taken aback a moment later when Barret spoke.

"Count me in," the Avalanche leader grumbled. Aeris nodded.

"I can't wait," she told them. And she really couldn't. The sooner they got rid of every Reactor on the face of the planet, the better off the planet would be.


	24. Nanaki

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Nanaki**

Days began to pass. The truck that Dio had given them proved several times to be reliable, even for a mountain vehicle. They were all impressed with it, as it carried them over steep hills and dangerous roads, covering distance quickly and protecting them from creatures that might hurt them.

They had all agreed to search for other Reactors where they might find some hint of Sephiroth or ShinRa. But they were also finding that Reactors were not quite as common throughout the rest of the planet as they had been in Midgar. For no matter where they went, they found no semblance of a community with any real Reactor. In fact, they were finding it difficult finding any sort of community at all.

Which could be a bad thing, as far as the truck was concerned. For no matter how reliable the truck proved to be, sooner or later, it would run out of fuel, and then it would be of little use them.

And unfortunately, sooner seemed to come far before later. It had been half a week since they had left Gongaga. In that time, Aeris had returned to her bright, cheerful self, and resumed her task of entertaining the rest of the group with the rather energetic assistance of Yuffie and Cait Sithe. And as they made fun in the back, Cloud kept a careful eye up front on the gauge measuring the amount of fuel in the tank.

He pressed forward for as far as he could, covering as much distance as he could, but in the end, time was defeated by that distance, and they were empty without the slightest idea of how far they were from the nearest town. Dejectedly, Cloud parked the truck.

"Hey!" Barret snapped as Cloud and Tifa both jumped out of the vehicle. "What gives?"

"We're out of gas," Tifa explained as she shut the front door and came around to open the side one. Red Thirteen immediately and gracefully leapt from the truck as Cloud walked around. With Tifa beside him, they began grabbing various pieces of supplies and equipment that they could not afford to leave behind as they abandoned the truck.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Yuffie complained as Barret and Aeris both jumped out as well. "You mean we gotta walk?"

"There's nothing wrong with walking," Cait Sithe told her rather haughtily as he drove his large toy moogle towards the door and held on as it literally fell from the vehicle and onto the road. Yuffie scowled resentfully and smacked the back of the small cat's head, literally sending him flying from his toy.

"Easy for you to say!" she spat at him as he landed with a protesting shout on the ground. "You get to ride around on a moogle!" He stood up and spun around the glare at her resentfully as he rubbed the back of his head with a paw. It was very difficult for all of them not to laugh, and impossible for them not to smile.

Cait Sithe, trying to preserve whatever dignity he had left, walked back to his moogle and hoped onto it as Yuffie slid out of the truck. "It just so happens that I have shorter legs than you do. There's no way I could keep pace with you guys. You should be glad I have a moogle so as to not slow you down!"

"Please," Red Thirteen grumbled as he rolled his eyes. "You give cats everywhere a bad name."

"Hmm," Cait Sithe glanced at Red as he considered that. "You know, I've never heard that one before."

"Well, how many talking cats do you know?" Aeris asked with a smile. "I can't imagine anyone else would ever consider judging the feline name based off you."

"Oh they might," Yuffie replied, crossing her arms as she glared teasingly down at Cait Sithe. "I'll make you a label. It'll say: 'Don't judge all cats because of me!' Would you like that?"

"Sure," Cait Sithe said with a shrug. "But I don't see myself ever wearing it, so you might not want to bother wasting your time."

Meanwhile, Cloud was gazing at Tifa somewhat strategically. "This might actually not be a bad thing. There's always the possibility that someone could have been following us. If that's the case, we'd be able to lose them easier on foot in this forest."

"Yeah," Tifa allowed with a shrug as she shouldered a bag with some of their supplies in it. "If we don't get lost first."

"Do not worry about getting lost," Red Thirteen suddenly broke in, and rather confidently at that. They all turned towards him in surprise.

"Why not?" Barret asked, almost suspiciously. "Sounds like a legit concern ta me."

"Yes, perhaps," Red Thirteen allowed, turning from them slightly and prancing a few yards away. The entire cluster of companions suddenly found themselves watching the enormous cat in bewilderment as he lifted his head towards the sky, taking in the feel of the woods around them, relaxing as if at great ease, while giving them the sense that he was in familiar territory. He turned towards them, his eyes practically alight with recognition and great joy. For he was close to home.

"I know the land here," he told them, his voice a deep, low purr. "The forest will end soon, and a dry, arid region will follow. There is a canyon there... one where I was raised. It is called Cosmo Canyon."

Barret's eyes widened in surprised delight. "_The_ Cosmo Canyon? I've always wanted ta go there!"

"Cosmo Canyon?" Tifa asked, with more dignity than Barret. "You were raised there? I've only heard good things about it."

"Well I should hope so," Red Thirteen replied, somewhat proudly. "It is only a place of goodness. We should find shelter there."

"How far is it?" Cloud asked.

"From here I could reach the canyon in two hours," Red informed the mercenary, but then his ears fell slightly in embarrassment. He hadn't meant to boast. He was just so eager to return to his home... He had not seen his grandfather in years, it seemed. In all honesty, he had often wondered if he would have ever been given another chance to see the man at all. "But, of course, at your pace, it will take longer. Several hours, I mean."

"You must be quite the fast runner," Cait Sithe observed, sounding almost envious by the larger cat's supposed speed.

"Well, I, for one, wanna see Cosmo Canyon!" Aeris declared enthusiastically. And it was already obvious that Red Thirteen and Barret both agreed with her.

Cloud glanced at Tifa. "What do you think?" She nodded. And that was good enough for him. He grabbed his own pack and tossed it over his shoulder. "Okay. Red Thirteen... lead the way."

"Hey wait a minute!" Cait Sithe interrupted, staring at Cloud indignantly. "You asked Tifa for her opinion! Why not ours?" He gestured towards himself and towards Yuffie.

Yuffie rolled her eyes and answered him before Cloud was given the chance to. "Because we invited ourselves on this little quest, stupid! We don't get a say!"

"That's not very considerate," Cait Sithe pouted.

"Yeah, but we're the ones who gotta put up wit' ya!" Barret reminded the little cat. "The least ya can do is follow our lead."

"I'm following Cloud's lead, Barret, and Red Thirteen's," Yuffie informed the leader of Avalanche teasingly. "But certainly not yours!"

Barret glared at her, his face turning beat red. "Well, damn it! You-"

"You know what, Cait Sithe?" Aeris asked, interrupting the larger man. "How 'bout _I_ ask for your opinion?" She crossed her arms and smiled at the cat. "What do you think about us going to Cosmo Canyon?"

"Well I-" Cait Sithe hesitated and cocked his head, staring at Aeris in complete stupefaction. He hadn't _actually_ expected someone to ask for _his_ opinion. Flustered, and slightly at a loss for words, and yet clearly and strangely pleased, he shrugged. "Don't... have a problem with it."

"That's terrific!" Aeris beamed. She turned towards the giant cat that was waiting in clear impatience. "Lead the way, Red Thirteen!"

In an instant, the large cat was off, bounding through the trees.

OOOOOOO

Sure enough, about an hour and a half later, the forest they had driven through for the past three days thinned and eventually ended. They walked through a field for a bit, but after awhile, that, too, faded into hard, dirt-covered ground. It wasn't particularly hot, or anything, with the sun already on the decline. Just dry and rather dusty, which caused both Aeris and Yuffie to sneeze a little bit.

But Red Thirteen seemed to revel in it. The landscape just seemed to fit a creature like him, and the small flame generating on the tip of his tail seemed to brighten, as did his thick red coat, the farther into the region they went. He had never looked healthier or happier.

And eventually, as several more hours faded, and the sun had set, but before darkness had claimed the world, they could see it. It seemed that they had entered the canyon a while back, for though they had always been aware that they had been in the foothills, only now did they realize that the great rocky walls surrounding them had subtly crept up on them. And not far in the distance, they could see a fascinating city, though small compared to Midgar, built along the side of the canyon wall.

"There it is!" Aeris was pointing in excitement, hardly able to contain herself any more than Red Thirteen seemed able to.

Cloud glanced towards the Cetra with a smile. Her face was aglow, though flushed from the exertion of their walk. No matter what she said about her stamina, it still wasn't quite as vigorous as the rest of theirs were.

"Grandfather," Red Thirteen was whispering to himself. "I've come home at last."

As they approached the city, they soon became aware of another man walking towards them. He was a tall, though slightly aged black man with graying hair. He dressed in clothes that suited a nomad, and carried a long walking stick. He seemed to be in complete peace with the world... But then he saw Red Thirteen.

The man stopped short, as did Cloud and his group. His eyes, round and black, widened in shocked surprise, and for a moment, he seemed incapable of speech. And as for Red Thirteen... he, too, had grown motionless and silent. And silently, Cloud wondered if he was about to witness a repeat of what happened with Barret back at Corel.

But in the end, it proved to be quite the contrary. Suddenly, the man's eyes were ablaze with hope, and he was staring at Red Thirteen in pure joy.

He took a hopeful step forward. "Nanaki? Is that you?"

"Yes," Red Thirteen said softly, even as Cloud frowned to himself, wondering about the name. Suddenly Red Thirteen dove forward, and the man fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around the great cat in a welcoming embrace. "It is I."

"You're home!" the man declared joyfully. "You're home, and you are safe!"

"Aw," Yuffie was grinning. "This is so sweet!" Aeris nodded in agreement, and even Tifa found herself able to smile with sincere ease.

"I never would have pegged Red Thirteen as the type able to be held like that without feeling humiliated," the woman explained. Cloud nodded with crossed arms as they waited patiently for the two friends to fully greet each other.

Finally, the man stood and both he and Red Thirteen turned towards the group. The man actually had tears in his eyes. "You helped Nanaki return here?"

"You mean Red Thirteen?" Cloud asked, causing the man to frown in confusion. But the large cat quickly hopped in to help set a couple things straight.

"Nanaki is my name," he told his companions. "It is my real name. I do recall telling you upon our meeting that 'Red Thirteen' was a name with no meaning to me."

"Of course we remember," Tifa assured him, though Yuffie and Cait Sithe were both frowning.

"I don't!" the teenager complained. She glanced huffily at Aeris. "How come no one told me?"

The Cetra shrugged. "I'm sorry." Yuffie just rolled her eyes and waved the apology away.

"In any case," Nanaki said, for none of his friends could continue looking at him as 'Red Thirteen' when they now knew who he truly was... and Nanaki wouldn't have wanted them to. He glanced towards his friend. "They did much more than just assist my return. I do believe I have them to thank for my very freedom."

The man's eyes widened again, and he turned towards Cloud and the others in new appreciation and respect. "Then we are indebted to you as well. Please. You are all most welcome in Cosmo Canyon." With that said he turned and headed back towards the city with Nanaki at his side. Cloud spared his friends only a quick glance before they, too, followed close to their new companion.

And as they approached the city, Aeris glanced from Barret to Tifa. "So... What do you guys know about Cosmo Canyon?" She, herself, had never heard of the place before.

Barret was quick to answer, and his voice was powerful in its awe and anticipation. "Cosmo Canyon is where people from all over come for the Study of Planet Life! It's a place of great historical significance to Avalanche!"

And the closer they drew to the city, the more awe-struck became those who had never seen the place before. Finally, Aeris just had to stop walking, and the others followed her example as they took in the sight.

Cosmo Canyon was like nothing they had ever seen before. It seemed so... primitive... and yet there was a practical aura about the place that spoke of knowledge, power, and wonder. The buildings were constructed, for the most part, out of the canyon wall itself. They were made of rocks, built _into_ the side of the cliff, one on top of the other. An incredible set up of ladders and poles made it easy to get from one building up to the next. But at the same time, no one building was so tall that it would be difficult for a creature like Nanaki to jump from one roof up to the roof above.

The stones were made of a reddish material, and they were decorated by wool blankets adorned in many different patterns with bright colors – generally one color like red combined with black and white. They hung over walls, or in doors and windows. There was a timeless quality to them, and it was easy to see how a creature like Nanaki could be so taken by it all. Aeris already was.

"It's beautiful," she said, gazing towards Nanaki in appreciation. He looked at her gratefully even as he nodded in agreement. Aeris sighed. "I wish I could have grown up in a place like this."

"My Tribe were the protectors of people such as you, Aeris," Nanaki told her. "You and all who admire this canyon and appreciate the planet that we call our home. It was our purpose... but..." He looked away in sorrow.

"Nanaki is the last of his kind," the great cat's friend informed them helpfully. "Time eventually takes all. No amount of distance can stop that."

No, Cloud guessed not. For even if distance gotten the better of their truck, in time, the mercenary and his friends had still arrived at Cosmo Canyon.

"I'm sorry, Red..." Aeris shook her head slightly as her face flushed. "I mean... I'm sorry, Nanaki. I understand what it's like."

"Nana-key-" Yuffie's face twisted into slight distaste as she tested the name on her tongue. "Nu-no-key... No-"

"Nuh-na-ki," Cait Sithe suggested helpfully, though he wasn't entirely certain he had pronounced it correctly either. "With the accent on the second syllable... I think."

Nanaki shook his head in slight amusement before looking back up at Aeris. "You are very kind."

"So you..." Tifa hesitated, then changed her mind and looked away. But her words had caught the attention of her friends, and they looked at her expectantly.

"It is okay, Tifa," Nanaki assured her warmly. "You can ask me any question. What are you thinking of?"

"I just..." Tifa couldn't meet their gazes for another moment. And then she turned only to look into Nanaki's bright round eyes, both filled with wisdom and consideration. Tifa found she couldn't keep her thoughts to herself. "It's just real sad, you know. It seems like everyone I know has lost their parents." As soon as she said that, however, she remembered her mistake and glanced at Yuffie even as she corrected it. "Well... Almost everyone."

Yuffie, under Tifa's critical gaze, glanced away, feeling slight shame by the older woman's words. Half of that was true... Yuffie _had_ lost her mother... But her father... He yet lived... That is... if he had not perished since she had last been home.

A wave of guilt past through Yuffie, but it was quickly followed by a wave of resent. What care had she for her father? He probably didn't even realize she was even gone!

"You need not be sad, Tifa," Nanaki told her gently. "My mother died fighting for what she believed in. She was brave and honorable. And I am at peace with that."

"What about your father?" Tifa asked softly, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face. She would have to retie her hair back soon... the band was slowly starting to fall out.

"My father?" Nanaki sounded surprised, having completely overlooked him. But then he merely shook his head. "The only father I acknowledge is my adoptive grandfather, Tifa."

She nodded, and then looked down with a small, sorrow-filled smile. "You see? That sounds really sad."

"No," Nanaki growled, but in such a way that everyone present was perfectly aware it was not directed at Tifa, who he held no resent against. His sudden display of bitterness was felt towards a different individual, and none other. "My father was a coward and a wastrel, and does not deserve our sorrow."

With that said, Nanaki turned towards the friend they had met on the road. "But where is my grandfather? I wish very much to see him again, and since we have been on the topic, I would like to inform him that I would now claim my inheritance."

Cloud frowned and took a slight step towards the great creature in confusion. "Your inheritance?" He had never pegged Nanaki for a creature searching for personal wealth.

But when the great cat glanced back at the mercenary, Cloud realized wealth had nothing to do with it. "Yes. I would inherit the mission of my ancestors. To protect Cosmo Canyon and its knowledge." He turned with extreme grace to gaze into the eyes of each one of his newest and dearest of friends. "And for though I seek great meaning and great honor here, I still feel some regret. For soon it will be that we shall part. My journey ends here."


	25. A Crying Planet

**Chapter Twenty-Four: A Crying Planet**

For a moment, no one could speak. But after that moment had past, Yuffie stared at Nanaki in complete indignation. "You gotta be _joking_!"

"I do not," Nanaki assured her. "My place is in Cosmo Canyon. This is my home. I have been away from it for far too long."

"But Red!" Yuffie complained, falling back on old habits and whining. "Don't you _like_ us anymore?" It was a childish argument, she knew, but one she could not help. "We're all fighting to save the planet together, remember!"

"I thought you were fighting to restore your family honor, and the honor of your home, Yuffie," Nanaki replied, somewhat sternly. "You should understand my decision. For I, too, must restore honor to my family's name."

"Why?" Yuffie shot back stubbornly. "Because of your father? What did he do? Come on, Red Thirteen, you can't just quit on us! I'd miss you too much!" All the while, she thought to herself, if this was just because of Nanaki's father, then fathers in general were really starting to get on her nerves.

"Will ya shu' up?" Barret ordered the girl rather rudely. She stared at him in resent, but he ignored it. "Unlike _you_, Red Thir- I mean, Nanaki, didn' ask to come along! He was dragged in ta this, and we've no right ta ask him ta keep wit' us!" With that said, the great giant of a man promptly turned towards the great giant of a cat, with much the same expression on his face that Yuffie was displaying. "Now... Are ya sure about this? 'Cause it jus' wouldn't be the same wit' out you, man!"

Nanaki was gazing back and forth between Yuffie and Barret in both amusement and regret. "It pleases me that my company will be missed. Having such friends as you has... been a great honor."

"Don't speak of it like that," Aeris suggested softly. "You know. In past tense. We still are honored to be your friends, Nanaki. That hasn't changed."

Nanaki nodded. "You are very wise."

"Nanaki," Cloud said in a low but authoritative voice. The great creature that the mercenary had long since come to consider as a great friend turned towards him. And Cloud was frowning. "I don't want to sound selfish. But since we escaped from ShinRa that night... I guess I've come to rely on you. And I can imagine how appealing it must be for you to want to stay here... But before this ends for the rest of us, I'm sure we could still use your help."

Nanaki nodded understandingly. "Rest assured, Cloud. I have given this more thought than you may realize. I would greatly wish to continue on with you to see how this all plays out. By nature I am not one who would quit before the end. I have seen you this far. I acknowledge that I should see you through all the way. But... my first duty is here. I have to protect my home."

"Then why did you leave in the first place?" Yuffie demanded. Since she had known Nanaki, she had grown attached to him. She did not wish to say goodbye.

"Yuffie!" Aeris turned towards her friend critically, which caused the girl's face to flush slightly in shame. She looked away from them, then, and didn't say anything more. There was another moment of awkward silence.

Finally, Nanaki's friend decided to step in and answer the question that had been left unresolved for several minutes by that point. "Nanaki. Your grandfather has been at his home all day. I think it would be a nice surprise for him, were you to make him a visit."

"Yes," Nanaki agreed, looking somewhat relieved. He nodded gratefully to his friend, and then turned once again towards his other friends. "We need not say goodbye this instant. Surely you can stay at Cosmo Canyon for as long as you desire. I myself would be honored to introduce you to my grandfather."

"I'm sure we'd all be honored to meet him," Aeris replied, always smiling. The others agreed, though some more enthusiastically than others. The whole prospect of bidding Nanaki farewell weighed heavily on them, and not even Aeris's cheerful spirits lightened such a burden.

Nanaki led the group towards one of the buildings that had been carved into the side of the cliff wall. They didn't have to climb any ladders to get there, but as they past through the city, it seemed like there were hundreds of other people, either ignoring them and going about their own business or turning towards them and waving hello. And because there were buildings and pathways higher up along the wall, it seemed like there were layers upon layers of people climbing up towards the sky. It was like no other place in the world.

And Nanaki moved through all of it with more ease than any of them had ever seen him possess before. They all knew that this place was more than just a home to him. It was where his heart lay. It was where he was happiest. And even Yuffie realized that it would be cruel to ask him to leave it again.

When Nanaki finally brought them to the building's threshold, his eyes were aglow in anticipation. He could hardly contain himself, and when those bright eyes finally caught sight of the familiar woven drape that served as a makeshift door, it was magnetic. Like a little child, he bounded forward, leaving his friends behind as he pranced inside his grandfather's home.

Cloud and the others hesitated as they arrived outside the cliff house. None of them knew for sure if they had been invited inside, but they all knew they certainly didn't want to intrude if they hadn't been. Finally, Aeris just shrugged and walked inside with the bold teenager behind her. And a moment later, Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and Cait Sithe followed as well.

Inside, they once again found themselves watching, somewhat awkwardly, as Nanaki allowed an old man to kneel down beside him and wrap two old arms around him. It was a very touching moment in which no one spoke. Words would not have been appropriate in the presence of such powerful and complete joy.

The man kneeling beside Nanaki in such a welcoming embrace was an elderly man of dark complexion. His hair was thin and graying, and he had a long silver beard and moustache. His eyes were a bright brown that sparkled with tears, even though they were shut at that moment. He dressed in wool clothes that had been colored with fresh, vivid dye. And though he was surely an old man, aging with each passing day and seemingly frail, he still looked every bit as confident and at peace with himself, Nanaki thought, as he had the last time they had been together. If anything, he appeared even wiser and calmer than he had before, though admittedly somewhat more sorrowful.

"Nanaki," the man finally pulled away in order to get a good look at his adopted grandson. "You are finally home."

"I am," Nanaki assured him. "And I intend to stay." With that said, he turned towards his friends. "This is my grandfather, Bugenhagen." He glanced back at the old man. "These are my newest friends. They helped me find my way back here." Nanaki took a moment to quickly repeat their names for his grandfather's benefit.

After that had been accomplished, Bugenhagen glanced at Cloud. "Well. I am certainly grateful you looked out for Nanaki, young man. He really is too young to be traveling by himself." This got an annoyed growl out of the large cat. Bugenhagen ignored it. "He is still just a child, you see."

There was nothing else that Bugenhagen could have said that would have surprised the group more. Their mouths literally fell open at the statement, and they looked back and forth between Nanaki and Bugenhagen in complete astonishment. And Nanaki was not happy about it.

He glowered at his grandfather. "Please. I am forty eight years old." He was _hardly_ a child. Bugenhagen just laughed.

"Ah, yes," he admitted. "But you forget – or perhaps just choose not to acknowledge – that your tribe has incredible longevity. Your forty eight years are only equivalent to, say, that of fifteen or sixteen years in human reckoning."

"Fifteen or sixteen!" Cloud declared in shock. He couldn't believe it! Nanaki did not act like a teenager! He didn't even act like a young adult! He _was_ an adult! Had he truly had them all fooled?

Bugenhagen nodded his understanding. "He's very quiet and extremely deep." The man chuckled in amusement. "You thought he was an adult?" Everyone in the room – aside from Nanaki that was – nodded. They were still too stunned for words, and Bugenhagen was agreeing that it was a reasonable mistake.

"Grandfather," Nanaki turned towards Bugenhagen almost pleadingly. "I want to be an adult. I want to grow up and be able to protect you and the canyon."

Bugenhagen rose to his feet, laughing softly to himself. It was a friendly laugh. One that provided reassurance, and even hope. But he was shaking his head. "No Nanaki. You can't stand on your own yet."

And though his words seemed to upset Nanaki, they brought sudden hope to the rest of his friends that maybe he wouldn't choose to part with them after all. Yuffie's face certainly had brightened.

Bugenhagen continued: "To do that now would destroy you in the long run. Reaching up into the heavens, threatening to snatch the very stars from the great city of Midgar. You've seen it, haven't you? Well, that's a bad example. Looking up too much makes you lose perspective. When it's time for the planet to die, you'll understand that you know absolutely nothing."

Though Nanaki's friends really weren't entirely sure what Bugenhagen meant by all of this, Nanaki himself certainly did, and he didn't like it at all. He looked away, his tail and his ears all lowered slightly, his expression almost that of the teenager Bugenhagen claimed he was – a teenager who was pouting miserably.

And yet, some of those words did take meaning in the others. Mainly, the part about the planet dying. They stared at the old man, wondering for a few moments if they had heard and understood correctly.

"When the planet dies?" Cloud finally asked, somewhat tentatively, as he glanced towards Barret and Tifa. The former looked shocked, and the latter was as pale as he had ever seen her.

Bugenhagen was nodding again. "Yes. It may be tomorrow or a hundred years from now. But it's not far off."

"How do you know that?" Barret demanded, his voice trembling somewhat. He was working too hard to save the planet. It certainly didn't help having this old fart tell him that his efforts were in vain.

"I hear the cries of the planet," Bugenhagen explained, as if that were all the explanation that was necessary. Aeris, immediately interested, took a small step forward, but didn't yet say anything.

"What's that?" Cloud asked.

"The sound of the stars in the heavens," Bugenhagen replied simply. "While this goes on, planets are born, and planets die."

As he was saying this, Aeris thought hard about its meaning. In her heart, she had already known such things. She herself spoke with the planet. And she certainly had heard its cries before. It was just that there was something fascinating about hearing it said by another man. Another man who had also heard for himself.

And then Aeris could hear it as well. Crying. But she had never heard it with such intensity before, even on that night when they had first escaped out of Midgar. It was louder here. And filled with more anguish.

Aeris's hands immediately flew up to cradle her face as her entire body tensed. She could almost _feel_ it. She whimpered slightly, but then Cloud was at her side, reaching to draw her close to him in concern.

"Aeris, what's wrong?"

Almost instantly she relaxed. It surprised her. Being so close to Cloud brought her comfort... She felt safe again. At ease again. And the cries of the planet softened apologetically, assuring her it hadn't meant to frighten her like that.

She looked up at Cloud gratefully, and managed to smile even then. "I'm okay. Thank you." But even still, she didn't draw away from him. She enjoyed being so close to him. Feeling his warmth... His protection... Even his heartbeat.

Bugenhagen was staring at her, impressed. "You heard it. The planet's scream. It was as if it were saying 'I hurt. I suffer.'"

Aeris nodded. "I could hear it." The others were watching her sympathetically, and Cloud drew her even closer, hoping to reassure her somehow. Tifa watched the gesture for a moment, and then found that she was looking away from her two closest friends. There was just something... that she didn't want to see.

Nanaki glanced up at his grandfather. "They have come here on a journey to save the planet. Why don't you show them your apparatus?"

But Bugenhagen had burst out laughing before Nanaki could finish his question. "To save the planet?" He started laughing again. And everyone in the room just stared at him in astonishment. They all knew he wasn't trying to be condescending. He was genuinely surprised and obviously amused. "The planet cannot be saved. Not from death. Not any more than I myself can be."

"Oh, ya think so, do ya?" Barret grumbled, but he left it at that. He doubted it would help their case any, concerning Nanaki's decision on whether he would or would not continue on with the rest, if they insulted his grandfather.

Bugenhagen nodded. "Though I guess it wouldn't hurt any to show you. Follow me." He turned and led them towards another flap that led farther into the cliff wall. The others followed, and found themselves standing in a darkened cavern. Though it was lit by some rather dim lamps, and decorated, and furnished with several chests, barrels, and vases, as well as some other little contraptions. But Bugenhagen walked past all of them, and led them deeper into the cave.

Before long, they could see ahead of them a moderately sized, dome-shaped building built within the cavern. It surprised them, and they glanced at each other somewhat apprehensively as they wondered what lay inside that building in wait of them. But Nanaki didn't look at all concerned, and they took some comfort in that. When Bugenhagen opened an actual door for them, none hesitated in entering.

Once inside, Bugenhagen pulled a small handheld device off a slot on the wall as he shut the door. The room itself was very dark, and without windows. Once the door was closed, they could hardly see a thing.

"What is this place?" Yuffie asked, curious to a fault. They could all tell she was eager and excited about whatever discovery they were about to make.

"A planetarium," Bugenhagen replied. "In this room we can see the stars."

Tifa felt her heart speed up. The stars! Her hand fell unconsciously towards the gray Materia Cloud had given her. She had seen the stars almost every night since they had left Midgar. And even now, the sight, the very _prospect_ of such a sight, completely took her breath away.

Bugenhagen worked with his remote device. They all listened as something else in the room, or, more accurately, the very walls around them that rounded up into a domed ceiling, began to vibrate slightly. A moment later, several tiny, silvery gold celestial orbs timidly formed around and above them. They all watched in fascination as the orbs appeared to come out of the walls and hover suspended in the very air. And then, one such orb flew across the room above them.

Tifa let out a sharp cry. It was unintentional, but it was also sincere. She found that she could not hide her feelings in this room. "Look! A shooting star!" It amazed her. It looked so real. It certainly did take her breath away.

Bugenhagen laughed. "It is something, isn't it? This is my laboratory. All the workings of space are entered into this 3-D Holographic System." He glanced towards Barret, even though, in this darkened room, it was nearly impossible to make out the larger man's face. "And I am sure it would please you to know that none of this is powered by Mako energy."

"Well, that's a relief," Barret said, his voice sounding somewhat winded. "Hate ta have ta destroy some 'tin like this."

"Terrorist," Yuffie accused playfully, _her_ voice sounding completely exhilarated. "This is so incredible!"

Cloud was frowning. "How does it run without Mako energy?"

Bugenhagen laughed. "Well, my boy, there certainly are other means of energy in this world. ShinRa just doesn't have the patience to discover them." He shook his head almost regretfully. "Mind you. Given a little patience, an answer can _always_ be found."

As he spoke, not far from them, a larger spherical image took shape. Aeris gazed at it in recognition and in wonder. "It's the planet!"

"Yes," Bugenhagen agreed as they all turned towards it. "The planet... That is what we must focus on, is it not? For there is far too much to learn about it for us to allow ourselves to grow distracted." With that said, Bugenhagen waited for no reply before jumping into an informed lecture.

"So," he said. "Eventually, all humans die." Tifa grimaced slightly, not liking where this conversation was headed. Bugenhagen must have sensed that, for he continued on with more gentleness. "What happens to them after they die? The body decomposes and returns to the planet. That much, everyone knows."

The image of the planet slowly began to rotate, and as it did, it floated in a circle around them. And a moment later, other images of other planets formed, and they too began to spin. Aeris thought she recognized it. It was the universe. A mini universe that fit inside this man's room. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before.

"But what about their consciousness, their hearts, and their souls?" Bugenhagen asked rhetorically. The others thought about it. It was a question they had often asked themselves. It was one that _everyone_ asked at one point or another. And it was one that no one seemed comfortable answering, for it was something no one seemed to even _have_ the answers to.

Cait Sithe shifted uncomfortably on top of his moogle. Perhaps the question frightened him most of all. Death certainly was not his favorite topic. But maybe... Bugenhagen could answer some of the wants that Cait Sithe often found himself hungering for. Such as the answer to the infamous question: Why?

"The soul," Bugenhagen was saying, with all the confidence of a wise old man. "It, too, returns to the planet. And not just the souls of humans, but everything on this planet. In fact, all living things in the universe are the same. The spirits that return to the planet merge with one another and roam the planet. They roam, converge, and divide, becoming a swell. A swell called the 'Lifestream'. The Lifestream, in other words, is the path of energy of all the souls roaming the planet.

"But while the Lifestream is part of life, there is another term you should never forget. That of Spirit Energy, which is a part of the planet... Of new life. Children are blessed with Spirit Energy when they are brought into the world. Then, the time comes when they die and once again return to the planet and to the Lifestream. It is like a cycle. And though, of course, there are some exceptions, this is the way of the world. And the basics of the Study of Planet Life." He gestured towards the image of their planet.

Aeris took a single step towards it as it began glowing with both green and bluish purple light. The green light, Bugenhagen informed them, represented the Lifestream, while the other represented the planet's Spirit Energy. And as they watched, the Spirit Energy began draining out of the planet. Little by little, as it drained out, every other color on the globe dulled and died until the Spirit Energy was completely gone. And then... the planet itself shattered.

Horrified, Cait Sithe backed away, as if hating the fact that such a thing were even _possible_, much less demanding his acknowledgement. For he, like the others, were beginning to understand the point Bugenhagen was trying to make. And he was fairly certain he didn't like it one bit.

"If the Spirit Energy is lost, our planet will be destroyed," Bugenhagen warned them. Tifa found that she could barely breathe, and Aeris had tears in her eyes. "But Spirit Energy is efficient because it exists within nature. There is so much it can do for us... The temptation was too strong. And now... the addiction is too hard to break from. But like a flower, no matter how beautiful, when Spirit Energy is forcefully extracted and manufactured it can't accomplish its true purpose, and will eventually wither away and die."

"You're talking about Mako energy," Cloud guessed, crossing his arms as he stared at what was left of the image of their shattered world. Then he glanced towards Tifa as he heard her release a soft, almost silent sob.

"Every time Mako Reactors suck up Spirit Energy," Bugenhagen said by way of an answer. "They diminish it. Spirit Energy gets compressed in the Reactors and processed into Mako energy. All living things are being used up and thrown away, for it is in them that Spirit Energy exists. It is in us as well. And in time, Mako energy will only destroy the planet... and the rest of us in the process."

"Is this what you wanted to show us?" Tifa asked, her voice soft and trembling. "We already knew Mako energy was killing the planet. Is it really necessary to know all the horrible little details as well?"

"Yeah," Cait Sithe answered, his own voice close to breaking. "Without details... It's too easy to deny..." He sounded like he wanted to deny it... but had been waiting too long for such answers on some deeper level to truly wish to. He realized, against much of his better judgment, that this was something he _needed_ hear.

"Besides," Barret cut in. "Now we understand it... It'll be easier finding a way ta _stop_ it from happening!"

"You can't stop it from happening," Bugenhagen replied. "Eventually, all things die. It's the common law of entropy. Order ends in disorder. Organization ends in chaos. Life ends in death."

"No," Barret shook his head. "Don' accept that!"

"In the end," Bugenhagen said calmly. "Time defeats everything. With time, our bodies age, and buildings crumble, and things rust and decay. There is no stopping it."

"Red!" Yuffie turned indignantly towards Nanaki. "Why would you want to stay with a guy like him? He's _positively_ too negative!"

Bugenhagen actually chuckled at that remark. "Forgive an old man, Yuffie." She whirled around towards him in surprise, for she hadn't expected him to remember their names. He chuckled again and shook his head. "Surely you cannot condemn a man for one fault. I apologize."

Yuffie didn't know how to respond, and just stared at Bugenhagen somewhat guiltily. But he didn't say anything more either, and just pressed a button on his remote which caused the vibrations to cease and the images around them to fade. And Tifa felt her heart grow heavy as she watched the last star blink out. _Is Bugenhagen speaking the truth? Is this really all there is left for the planet to look forward to?_ It made her want to cry again.

"Now it is getting late," Bugenhagen told them as he opened the door and led them back out of the planetarium. "Come. Let us find some respite at the Cosmo Candle."


	26. A Crying Father

**Chapter Twenty-Five: A Crying Father**

Night had fallen outside. The sky was dark, but the canyon was lit. On every level, it seemed, lights brightened the cliff homes, making the cliff wall itself seem to shimmer like a jewel. And near the center of the city on the ground level, there was an outdoor fireplace, known as the Cosmo Candle.

Presently, Cloud, Nanaki, Bugenhagen, and their friends sat around the Candle, which burned brilliantly, like a small bonfire. Up on some of the higher levels of the cliff, men and women were singing, and in some areas, dancing. The night air, even without the fire, was warm and comfortable. Everything just had a sense of peace and relaxation. It was a calm respite, just as Bugenhagen had said it would be. The Candle after nightfall had always been Nanaki's favorite place. And it was easy to understand why.

"Bonfires," Tifa said softly, though everyone could hear her. "They're funny, aren't they. They make you remember all sorts of things." She looked up towards the sky. Through the smoke and through the blazing lights from above, she could still see the stars and the moon. And she thought to herself that they were much more magnificent than they could possibly be in any sort of machine Bugenhagen might build. They were real. She looked back into the fire, not really focusing on it, or on any of her friends, as her mind wandered into the past.

Cait Sithe was doing likewise. How long had it been? When was the last time he had felt companionship like this before? Sitting there, he felt almost like he was a part of something. Like he belonged... He glanced around at his circle of companions. Cloud. Barret. Tifa. Aeris. Yuffie. Nanaki. It hadn't taken him nearly as long as he had originally thought it would to learn all their names. Or to get close to them like this. And he felt... Camaraderie. Friendship. How many years had it been since he had felt something like this? He liked how it felt. Extremely pleasant. This was what he had been missing. And yet... He couldn't help but wonder... was it too late for him?

"Memories..." Barret said softly. "Never been here before, but still got memories of this place. Cosmo Canyon..." He stared straight into the Candle's flames. He thought he could hear their voices... See their faces... In the fire. "This's where Avalanche was born. I promised my guys someday... when we saved the planet from ShinRa, that we'd all go to Cosmo Canyon and celebrate..." He looked down and closed his eyes past all the pain tearing through his heart. "Biggs... Wedge... Jessie... Now they're all gone. Died for the planet."

Tifa looked away, fighting back tears. Cait Sithe glanced up at Barret, wondering who Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie were, and how they had died.

"To save the planet?" Barret asked himself, as if he doubted the truth behind that. "We all... we all hate the ShinRa. Do I even got to go on? Will they..." Barret's voice was close to breaking. "Will they ever forgive me?"

ShinRa was responsible. Cait Sithe looked away. ShinRa was responsible for everything, it seemed.

Barret was trembling. "Right now... I don't really know. But I know one thing. If there's anything I can do to save the planet... or the people living on it... Then I'm gonna do it!" His voice rose in determination. "I don't care if it's for justice or revenge or whatever! I don't care! Let 'em decide for themselves! I'm gonna do it! Again!" He paused for a moment, as if catching his breath. Then he nodded to himself. "Avalanche is born again."

Everyone stared at him and waited as he settled back down. There was a smile on his face. A small one, maybe, but nevertheless, it was one that spoke of stubborn, solid will. He was determined... There would be no stopping him.

Tifa glanced away from him with a small smile. It was good to know that he'd be okay now. The only problem was... she still wasn't sure if she would be. She couldn't stop thinking about five years ago. Barret wasn't the only one to have lost loved ones. She kept thinking of her father... She missed him so much!

And then... when she wasn't thinking of him, she was thinking of Cloud. He hadn't really been there five years ago. And if he had, it had only been for a moment... That one moment after Sephiroth had hurt her... Nothing made sense...

She glanced towards him. She wanted to tell him. She wanted to tell him that she did not remember him being there five years ago. She wanted to speak Zack's name to him. But... she was too afraid to ask. What they had right then... sitting around that outdoor fireplace... He was close to her. Back then... He had felt so far away. Now they were within feet of each other. She didn't want to lose him again. She was afraid... she might lose him if she spoke Zack's name out loud.

"I want to be a part of Avalanche, Barret," Aeris suddenly said, looking over at the large man. He glanced at her in surprise, and she nodded. "I'll help you. I feel like I can now. I learned a lot here. About the Cetra. The Promised Land. And I..." she glanced away from them then. "I'm all alone."

Cloud turned towards her, shaking his head almost desperately. "But I'm... we're all here for you, right?"

"I know," Aeris assured him. "But I'm the only Cetra." She shook her head slightly and smiled. "If I join Avalanche... It'll be my way of helping. And the last Cetra should help protect the planet, right?"

"Hell, yeah," Barret agreed, nodding his head enthusiastically. "I'd be honored, Aeris." She smiled again, and looked down towards the fire. And for the next several moments, Cloud found that he could not look away from her. The firelight was reflecting off her face... off her eyes. It was like she was glowing. She had never looked more beautiful.

Nanaki was lying slightly apart from the rest, and slightly in the shadows. He had been so quiet since they had left the planetarium. Now he spoke, his voice a low, soft growl. "This... all reminds me. Long ago... when I was still very small. We were all around this flame..." He hesitated, and then turned away from them, reluctant to continue. But he had already caught his friends' attention.

Cloud leaned slightly forward. "What happened?"

"It's..." Nanaki shook his head and looked back towards the mercenary. His eyes then turned towards Bugenhagen, who was watching him motionlessly, but expectantly. Nanaki took a deep breath. "It's about my parents. When I talk about my mother, I am full of pride and joy. And that's fine. But..." He hesitated, obviously ashamed. He looked away from them. "When I remember my father, my heart is full of anger."

Yuffie nodded to herself, wanting to say something like: _Join the club._ But she figured it wouldn't be appropriate. So she silently listened, not really in the mood to be witty at that moment anyway.

Bugenhagen had barely moved, but he was gazing at Nanaki with a strange intensity. "You really can't forgive your father?"

Nanaki spared his grandfather a surprised glance. "How can I? He left mother for dead. When the Gi Tribe attacked, he ran off by himself, leaving mother and the people of the canyon!" He said this more for his friends' sakes than for his grandfather's. Bugenhagen already knew all of it. But then... it would appear that Bugenhagen knew a lot more than Nanaki did.

The old man stood up with a sigh. "Come Nanaki. There is something you must see." He turned from the Cosmo Candle then, and waited for his adopted grandson to comply.

Nanaki hesitated for a moment, and then gracefully rose to his feet. He glanced around at each of his friends, all of whom stared back in bafflement. But they would just have to remain baffled. Nanaki had no more of an answer for them than he did for himself. Together, he and his grandfather headed deeper into the canyon, leaving behind a small group of bewildered companions.

OOOOOOO

Even though Bugenhagen was leading Nanaki farther into Cosmo Canyon, they eventually came out of the actual city. Beyond its borders, the canyon was rustic and dark. Bugenhagen carried a lantern, but even still, it was hard for the old man to see. He walked beside Nanaki, knowing the creature would keep his feet on the trail. Bugenhagen grinned as he wondered who was actually guiding who here.

Eventually, Bugenhagen had Nanaki come to stop at a certain point by the canyon's cliff wall. It was marked by a seal on the side of the cliff. Bugenhagen glanced at his grandson. "This marks the entrance to the Gi Cave."

Nanaki frowned. "There is no cave here. And even if there were, how is it that I have never heard of a 'Gi Cave'?"

"I will explain," Bugenhagen assured the great creature beside him. He walked up to the seal on the wall and touched it. And as he did so, much to Nanaki's astonishment, the wall moved! It actually seemed to fade more than anything else... as if it had evaporated. In its place, there was in fact an entrance to a cave! Nanaki stared at it in wonder. "Grandfather... what is this?"

"A long time ago," Bugenhagen explained. "When you were just a tiny cub, the Gi Tribe attacked. It was in this cave that a single significant battle took place."

"A battle?" Nanaki frowned, uncomprehending. Bugenhagen nodded as he motioned for Nanaki to enter the cave first. The great cat obeyed, and Bugenhagen slipped in behind him. And at Bugenhagen's signal, Nanaki began to wander deeper into the cave with his grandfather following.

And as they made their way through the cave, Nanaki began to notice shadows on the wall. There were so many different shadows! And none of them were from Bugenhagen's lantern. Nanaki felt a slight chill sweep through him.

"The vengeful spirits of the Gi didn't disappear," Bugenhagen told his grandson. "They couldn't return to the Lifestream." He sounded sad by that, but then, he was a compassionate person. He felt all should return to the planet, and pitied those who didn't, or couldn't.

"Why can some not return to the Lifestream, grandfather?" Nanaki asked as they continued deeper still into the cave.

"There are many reasons," Bugenhagen replied. "But I did not bring you here to speak of the Lifestream, Nanaki."

"Then why did you bring me here?" Nanaki asked. Bugenhagen did not answer right away.

"As you can see," he finally said after several minutes had past. "This cave leads to the back of Cosmo Canyon. It was unfortunate that the Gi were larger than us. If their attack through here had been successful, we wouldn't have stood a chance."

"But their attack hadn't been successful," Nanaki countered. He did not know the details of every little thing concerning the tribal war so many years ago, but he knew enough to know that the Gi Tribe had not been the victors.

"That is true," Bugenhagen allowed. "But there was a price for that, Nanaki. A price I rather would not have paid."

Nanaki looked up at his grandfather in confusion. "What price?"

"To prevent the Gi Tribe from breaking through this cave and into Cosmo Canyon," Bugenhagen said carefully. "One warrior had to journey through these caves alone, fighting off attackers one after another."

Nanaki felt his heart race. "That warrior...?"

"Come with me," Bugenhagen urged his grandson. The two walked on until they reached the threshold of one large chamber. But before they entered it, Bugenhagen turned towards Nanaki. "I can tell that since you left, you have grown very strong, Nanaki. I will not regret bringing you here."

"No," Nanaki agreed. "But... I'm still so confused grandfather. Who was that warrior?" His heart was pounding painfully in his chest. He had a feeling he knew what Bugenhagen was going to say, but he wasn't sure that he could admit it to himself after all these years...

"The warrior who fought against the Gi," Bugenhagen related with pride filling his voice. "He kept them from taking even one step into Cosmo Canyon. But the price for that was that he could never return to us." The old man turned towards the room and walked inside, lifting the lantern up high as he went. Nanaki followed, but hesitantly. He was already realizing that everything he had perceived as the truth in his life was about to change. He knew that, for his grandfather's sake, he had to be strong enough to accept it. But such a change...

"Look, Nanaki," Bugenhagen said when they reached the center of the chamber. He lifted his lantern even higher, and the light washed over a large statue of a creature that Nanaki immediately recognized. His heart pounded wildly in his chest as he gazed at the dark, solid, stone... Bugenhagen continued: "Look at your father. At the warrior. Seto."

"That..." Nanaki's entire body lowered to the ground, his tail tucking under as his ears flattened against his head. He trembled as he stared in disbelief at his father. "That's... Seto?"

"Seto continued to fight the Gi Tribe here," Bugenhagen explained. "To protect this canyon. Even after the Gi's poisonous arrows turned his body to stone. Even after they all ran away. Seto continues to protect us. And he continues to protect us even now."

"Even now..." Nanaki thought for an instant that he was in a dream. A whirlwind of emotions swept through him. The first of which being anger. _Why had he been lied to? Why had Bugenhagen allowed him to grow up hating his father under such a lie?_ Trembling, he turned towards his grandfather. "Did mother know?"

"She knew," Bugenhagen nodded. "The two of them made me promise to keep this cave shut. They asked me to seal it myself and not to tell a soul. Eventually, they reasoned, its existence would be forgotten, and the cave could never be used as it was by the Gi Tribe ever again. So I did as they bid me do, and I told not a soul. Unfortunately, there were few in the canyon who even knew the Gi were planning on using this cave to their advantage. No one knew what Seto had done for them. And, as can be expected, men do not mourn the sacrifice made by nobility when they do not realize a sacrifice has even been made. All they knew was that Seto had disappeared. They thought he had run away, a coward. And neither Seto nor your mother would have had me correct them."

"But," Nanaki shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes. "Surely you could have told me."

"You were too young, Nanaki," Bugenhagen told him gently. "Had I told you, would pride have allowed you to keep it secret? No. You would have corrected the lies that were made in this canyon. I had to wait until you were old enough to handle bearing the truth quietly. For that is what your parents wished to be done. But... I reckon now you are old enough."

"I am," Nanaki said, his voice soft and trembling. He gazed at his father, even now feeling pride and honor wash away his bitterness and resent. And he was amazed at how easy it was to forgive... No. It was not forgiveness he was feeling... For he realized he could not forgive someone who had done nothing wrong. It was not Seto who needed to be forgiven... It was Nanaki himself. "I... am... so sorry..."

"Nanaki," Bugenhagen shook his head. "You have no sin. If anything... I should have told you sooner."

For a moment, neither spoke. Nanaki gazed at his father as Bugenhagen gazed at him. There were shadows in the room... Of vengeful spirits. But Nanaki could not understand what they were feeling. Not anymore. There was no longer any vengeance in his heart.

"Nanaki," Bugenhagen suddenly announced. "I want you to continue your journey with Cloud and the others."

Nanaki turned towards his grandfather in shocked surprise. "Grandpa!" Alarm suddenly swept through him. He had no desire to leave Cosmo Canyon again!

"Listen, Nanaki," Bugenhagen insisted, his voice filled with understanding gentleness. "Cloud says they're trying to save the planet." He laughed softly at that prospect once again. "Honestly, I don't think it can be done. For even if they stop every Reactor on the planet, it's only going to postpone the inevitable. Even if they stop ShinRa, everything will perish."

Nanaki looked away. He had been raised with such knowledge. But time with Barret and the others had convinced him otherwise. Did the planet truly have to die?

"But Nanaki," Bugenhagen continued. "I've been thinking lately. I've been thinking if there's anything _we_ could do, as a part of the planet, something to help a planet already in misery... No matter what happens, isn't it important to try?" He chuckled softly again, and glanced at the stone form of Seto. "Am I just wishing against fate? I am too old to do something about it." He glanced back at Nanaki. "This year, you must go with them. For my sake."

"Grandpa..." Nanaki spoke softly, looking away. Did it truly have to be like this...?

"I really did want to show you your real father before you left," Bugenhagen assured his grandson. "I'm so glad you came back while I was still alive to show you."

Nanaki looked up at Bugenhagen defiantly. "Don't talk like that! I... I don't want to think about..." His voice then grew timid. "Life without you."

Bugenhagen chuckled. "Well. I've had a long life."

"Grandpa," Nanaki rose up to stand on his own as determination flared through him. "You must live!" How could he convince his grandfather not to just lie back one night and accept that time had finally come to take him away? "I'll see to it! I'll see to what's happening to the planet! And I'll come back to tell you!"

"Nanaki," Bugenhagen raised his hands gently, as if to shield off Nanaki's words. But Nanaki was trembling with determination.

"I am Nanaki of Cosmo Canyon," he told his grandfather. "The son of the warrior, Seto. I'll come back a warrior true to that noble name. If only you won't... Please, Grandpa..." _Don't think about dying!_

"Nanaki," Bugenhagen said again, turning away from his grandson. But as he did so, the movement of the lantern he held swept over the statue that was Seto. And as the light moved over it, something near Seto's eyes reflected the light back at them, and it sparkled like a diamond. Bugenhagen had noticed it, as had Nanaki.

"Was that...?" Bugenhagen gazed at Seto in surprise. Nanaki took several small steps forward, disbelieving. Was that even possible?

"Seto..." he whispered. "Father...?"

As the two of them watched, a single tear fell down Seto's stone face. A moment later, another followed. Within seconds, Seto's face was wet with many silent tears.

When Cloud had first met Red Thirteen, he had thought of him as a mixture of a wolf and a tiger. Since then, Red Thirteen had been characterized as a great, giant of a cat. But now, the wolf part of him surfaced. For as he gazed at his crying father, the mixture of pain and grief, loss, gain, honor, and respect all built up inside of him, leaving him with no way to truly express it all. And yet, there was just too much there for him not to let it out. There was a great part of him that _yearned_ to declare what he felt to the world. And so, a wolf's instinct overcame him. So he lifted up his face, his eyes looking past the cavern ceiling, gazing at the stars and the moon... and a howl sounded throughout the canyon.

OOOOOOO

Morning came too soon to the canyon. For with it came Avalanche's determination to depart and continue on with their journey. They had at last accepted that Nanaki would not continue traveling with them, and now they wished to leave quickly, without goodbyes... Because goodbyes made things so hard...

Presently, Cloud and the others walked with Nanaki's friend who had welcomed them into the canyon the day before.

"I apologize there is no sufficient fuel for your vehicle here," their friend was telling them as they walked outside the canyon together. "But there is a town north of here where you might be able to find another truck all together. And, I do believe there is a Reactor there as well. I recommend you go there."

"We will," Cloud assured their friend. The others were nodding in agreement. "Thank you... for everything."

"You have brought Nanaki back to the canyon," the man replied with a shrug. "This is our thanks to you."

With that said, Cloud and the rest of Avalanche looked back at Cosmo Canyon. It was so hard to believe they were really leaving... without Nanaki.

"So," Aeris said, gazing at the canyon sadly. "I guess... This is it, Red Thirteen." Yuffie pouted, crossing her arms somewhat resentfully. But she did not say anything. Neither did Cait Sithe, who didn't know _what_ to say in moments like this.

Tifa looked down. She was trying not to cry. Red Thirteen had been really sweet to her. He had been a comfort. And now they were leaving without him. It hurt... a lot.

"That's just the way it goes," Barret was saying, trying to be impassive, but finding it difficult. He gazed into the canyon. "You came in handy at times."

"Come on," Cloud said, being the first to turn away from Cosmo Canyon. "We should go." The others followed reluctantly, Tifa and Yuffie being the last to turn away. And even as Tifa did, Yuffie stubbornly refused to. She stared back at Cosmo Canyon, wishing for some miracle that... Wait a minute... Yuffie frowned.

"What's that?" she asked. Nanaki's friend frowned, following her gaze, even as the others stopped to turn and do the same. For in the distance, they could see a small shape taking form, growing, and running out of the canyon after them. And the speed at which it ran was incredible.

"Wait for me!" Nanaki shouted as, within seconds, he caught up with them. "I'm coming too!"

"What?" Cloud demanded as they all stared at Nanaki in stunned amazement. Was he for real?

"I will come with you," Nanaki declared in response. "I have decided... I cannot start a journey and then fail to see it to its end. I will continue on."

"You're insane," Cait Sithe informed the great creature without really thinking about the words he was saying.

Yuffie walked up beside the cat and calmly – but brutally, nevertheless – smacked the back of his head, sending him flying once again off his moogle and onto the dusty ground as he cried out in surprise. "Don't complain!"

"Hey!" Cait Sithe shouted in indignation as he once again pushed himself up to his feet and glared at Yuffie dejectedly. He hastened back up onto his moogle and then promptly began to clean himself off. The others were all smiling.

"What changed?" Cloud asked, looking back at the creature he had come to respect and admire.

"I think..." Nanaki hesitated, but then opened up to his friends. "I grew up a little. That's what changed."

"Well, Nanaki," Aeris said, always smiling. "I'm very glad you've decided to come with us after all."

"Please," Nanaki glanced at each of his friends in turn. "Continue to call me Red Thirteen. My father named me Nanaki. I must prove myself worthy of such a name."

"Worthy?" Yuffie frowned in confusion. "I thought you couldn't _stand_ your father. Why would you need to be worthy?"

"I..." Red Thirteen glanced away. "I have learned a lot here. And I have made peace with the memory of my father."

Yuffie stared at Red Thirteen, not knowing what to say. He had made up with his father? And here she had thought she had found someone just like her! But apparently not, for _she_ would never be able to 'make peace' with her father. Would she?

Perhaps it was possible. Maybe Red Thirteen was more like her than she knew. Maybe there was a way for her to reconcile with her own father. She didn't know. And now she couldn't help but wonder if she would ever be given that chance.

Red Thirteen turned towards his friend. "Will you take care of my grandfather for me?" The man nodded.

"Of course," he assured his friend. "Just promise that you will find success and come back to us."

"I shall," Red Thirteen declared. "I shall return to Cosmo Canyon once I have seen this through." He turned towards Cloud and the rest... His friends... They would end this soon. "Let us go now. We will find Sephiroth together."


	27. Homecoming

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Homecoming**

When Red Thirteen's friend had told them that there was a town to the north of Cosmo Canyon with a Reactor, none of them had thought it would be so far away. They had to have been walking for at least three days by that point, with no sign of any town. And though the people of Cosmo Canyon had provided them with plenty of food and supplies before they had left, they were all beginning to feel very tired of the outdoors.

They had to finish hiking across the arid region. As they went, Red told them about the Gi cave, and his father, and how his father had been an unsung hero. For though Bugenhagen had told him he must keep the truth quiet, Red Thirteen felt that _someone_ had to know... and he trusted his friends to keep the secret.

After the arid region had been crossed, they found themselves walked through great fields and meadows. There seemed to be flowers everywhere, and Aeris ran through them in delight. She was, after all, a flower girl, and these brought her great joy. And it did not take her long to energize Yuffie at all.

Yuffie had been uncertain of her feelings since leaving Cosmo Canyon. On one side, she was delighted Red Thirteen was still accompanying them. But on the other, she couldn't help but think about his story concerning his father. It kept her thinking of her own father... and she felt the burden of uncertainty and regret. Would she ever see her father again? _Forget it. You hate him, remember? You're just suffering from stupid teenage hormones. _Wasn't she?

But when Yuffie saw Aeris laughing and dancing through the flower fields, all her doubts left her as she yearned to just have a good time. So she followed Aeris's example, and the two girls enjoyed the flowers together.

Cait Sithe was quick to join in the fun as well. He put his toy moogle on autopilot and hopped off. The tall grass and weeds of those fields often proved to be taller than the small cat was, and he found himself running through what seemed to him to be a thick jungle of wilderness.

The rest of the group, Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and Red Thirteen, stuck together and simply watched the other three enjoy themselves. Barret often shouted comments after them, and they shouted back eagerly teasing him or frustrating him or simply baffling him. All in good fun, of course.

Red Thirteen watched, happiness radiating from him even if he no longer was in Cosmo Canyon. All in all, he was glad he had agreed to journey with them. For now that he really thought about it, he would have regretted staying behind. He would have wondered where his friends were or if they should need him. He would have worried about them, and would have despised himself for not seeing them through this. He was a part of this, he now knew. It was a part of him. And though Bugenhagen was right, and it was important for him to help ease the planet's existence, Red Thirteen was also realizing that he wouldn't feel completely whole if he didn't continue on after Sephiroth.

As for Cloud and Tifa, they were both watching Aeris and Yuffie in content. It was a warm, beautiful day, with no sign of Mako or pollution, or any suffering on the planet's part at all. When they watched Aeris smell flowers and run around with Yuffie like little girls, they found themselves momentarily forgetting Sephiroth and Jenova and all things related to their quest. They were simply a group of friends traveling across the land together. Cloud was happy just watching Aeris. She was so full of life and energy, and full of happiness and laughter and compassion. He could hardly take his eyes off her. And Tifa was happy with just being able to walk so closely beside Cloud... and knowing that he was there with her. He might not have been there five years ago... but he was there now, and she took great comfort and joy from that fact. They were so close beside one another...

Eventually, as they kept moving forward, they could see mountains taking shape ahead of them. By that point, Cait Sithe had grown somewhat tired, and he was back up on his moogle allowing it to carry him around again. And as he saw the mountains growing larger with each passing step, he sighed. Mountains did not generally mean civilization.

Suddenly, Tifa stopped short in surprise. "Oh, no."

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked as they all stopped and turned towards her in concern. Aeris and Yuffie made their way back to the group as well, and the teenager made a face.

"Don't tell me you forgot something at Cosmo Canyon," she joked. But Tifa didn't snap at that. She just stared at the mountains in front of them, her face pale and her eyes wide in alarm.

"Those mountains..." she whispered, slowly shaking her head back and forth. "It... it can't be..."

Cloud and the others all took a moment to look over at the mountains they were approaching. And while their friends had no idea what the significance of those mountains were, Cloud suddenly thought he recognized them. It was his face that paled next.

Suddenly, Tifa bolted forward. The others watched in surprise as she sprinted towards the mountains at a shocking speed. Not even Cloud had known she could run that fast.

"Tifa!" the mercenary shouted after her, but she either didn't hear him or she ignored him. Alarm swept through Cloud, and he immediately started after her. He picked up as much speed as he could, wanting to catch Tifa and spare her from what he realized they had been approaching all along. Red Thirteen's friend had been wrong. There was no town north of Cosmo Canyon. Not anymore. It had been destroyed five years ago...

"Hey!" Barret shouted after them. "Wait for us!" He, along with Cait Sithe, Yuffie, and Aeris, hastened to make after them. Red Thirteen bolted ahead, easily catching up with the mercenary. But the other four found that they weren't nearly as fast as they had thought they were. Not when compared to Cloud, Tifa, and Red Thirteen. When nothing held them back, those three were like lightning.

As Tifa ran, she caught sight of a few buildings forming ahead of her. She was running towards a town! Tears stung painfully in her eyes. This couldn't be possible!

"Tifa!" Red Thirteen was running at her side. "What's going on? Slow down!" She ignored him. But a moment later, Cloud was behind her. He reached forward and caught her waist, trying to stop her. And when Tifa turned to try forcing him away, she lost her balance. She would have fallen, but Cloud held her securely, and gently brought her close to him, holding her in his arms as she began to cry.

Red Thirteen turned away to give Tifa some privacy. He found himself staring at the town they were approaching, but were still a good distance away from. For though he could see it clearly, he knew they still had awhile yet to go before they reached it.

"It's okay, Tifa," Cloud whispered to her comfortingly as he held her. She was crying fiercely, and all he wanted was to know how to soothe her. Pulling her close to him was about the best he could do, as he glanced towards the town himself. It wasn't possible. Nibelheim had burnt down five years ago...

"Does someone want to tell me what's going on?" Yuffie demanded as she and Aeris caught up with them, with Barret and Cait Sithe arriving almost on their heels. They all looked confused and worried. Especially worried when they saw Tifa sobbing in Cloud's arms.

"Those are the Nibel mountains," Cloud softly explained. "And the mountain directly behind that town is Mt. Nibel. Which means the town itself must be Nibelheim."

"But I thought you said it burnt down," Aeris reminded him gently, looking at the town behind him.

"I thought it had," Cloud whispered. He could remember it burning... He could remember the flames... He remembered... _Sephiroth being engulfed by fire. _Cloud tensed and released Tifa. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes as he backed away from her. "There had been a fire..."

"Yes," she nodded miserably. "I remember it."

"Well, then they must have rebuilt!" Aeris suggested enthusiastically. "Come on, you guys. Maybe there's someone there who survived the fire and could answer some of our questions! Let's go!" She took off herself, with Yuffie on her heels. Barret, Red Thirteen, and Cait Sithe hesitated a moment, each glancing at Cloud and Tifa, before they too followed the Cetra's lead.

Left behind, Cloud and Tifa stood motionlessly, reluctant to follow. Tifa was no longer even facing the town, but was standing like a cold statue, trying to regain control of herself. Cloud waited for her, all the while feeling dread build in his heart. It had been five years... The town behind Tifa was where they had both grown up. It was easy for the other five to approach Nibelheim. But for the two of them... It was frightening.

Tifa finally moved, but only to look at Cloud. "Until just a few minutes ago, I had completely forgotten."

"Forgotten what?" Cloud asked.

"How it feels," she told him. "To be completely miserable."

OOOOOOO

Cloud and Tifa both felt their hearts pounding as they entered Nibelheim after Barret, Aeris, Red Thirteen, Yuffie, and Cait Sithe. The five of them had been waiting at the town's gates, and now that they were all together, they found themselves entering Nibelheim in astonishment.

The town seemed to be thriving. There were scores of people there, or so it seemed, going about their business as if they had been doing so since the dawn of time. And though there didn't seem to be very many children or livestock, everything else seemed to be perfectly in place. Or at least it seemed to be for everyone other than Cloud and Tifa. The two of them could not believe their eyes.

"It hasn't changed," Tifa whispered. She could see the town square. It was exactly as it had been. The buildings... the houses... the streets... She walked forward as if in a daze. The world seemed to be spinning too fast, but then she realized it was she who was spinning. For as she walked farther into the town, she was slowly walking in circles, taking in everything around her.

There was the old inn. There was the swing set. There was the old bakery. There was the mansion. There was... There was the well where she had spoken with Cloud seven years earlier. Tifa felt sick and dizzy. Everything was _exactly_ the same! No amount of rebuilding could have done this! Tifa glanced down at the street below her feet. Even the very cobblestone seemed all too familiar... Too similar to what it had been before the fire.

"Tifa," Cloud was at her side. She glanced up at him and could see that his face was as pale as a ghost's. He was easily as disturbed by all of this as she was. He was shaking his head. "This isn't possible..."

"Our houses are still here," Tifa told him, her voice sounding close to breaking. Cloud turned slightly to see. And they really were both there. His heart raced as his body trembled. Those two houses... They were where the two friends had grown up. That was his home! Untouched by any fire.

Cloud started towards it. Tifa followed close behind, reaching for Cloud's hand. His grip tightened comfortingly around hers as they drew near to his home. In a matter of moments, they were standing in front of the house's door. Cloud could barely breathe as he reached up and knocked on the side of it.

As the two of them waited, their friends slowly approached from behind. So when a middle aged woman neither Cloud nor Tifa recognized opened the door, she found herself staring out at quite an unusual crowd practically piled on her doorstep.

She frowned. "Who are all of you?"

"My name's Cloud Strife," the mercenary quickly told her, forcing his voice to stay calm. Inside, he felt like he was on fire, his organs literally burning to a crisp. "This... used to be... I mean... how long have you... Um... I..." Finally he just spat it out. "I used to live here!"

The woman stared out at Cloud uncertainly. She was frowning, and then she shook her head. "No. I'm sorry. But that's impossible. I've lived here all my life."

Cloud felt like he had been slapped across the face. "What?"

"I grew up here," the woman informed him. "This house has always been in my family. There's no way you could have ever lived here."

"But he did!" Tifa objected, fighting to keep her tears in check. "And I used to live next door!"

The woman stared at Tifa as if afraid the girl was out of her mind. "No. The Phrosbes' live next door. And they've been there for the last twenty years."

"But..." Tifa felt her tears falling down her face. "What about the fire?"

"What fire?" the woman asked, her own voice starting to tremble. She obviously thought they were all mad. "There's never been a fire here."

Cloud shook his head. "Five years ago-"

"Nothing happened five years ago!" the woman snapped, shutting the door in their faces.

"Cloud," Aeris whispered, taking a step towards the mercenary. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Cloud told her, stunned. He glanced at Tifa. Her face was hidden in her hands. "This doesn't make any sense."

Tifa turned away and suddenly ran towards her own house. Cloud followed with the others after him. Only Aeris hesitated. Something passed by out of the corner of her eye. Someone in black clothes. She paused and glanced in the direction it had come from, but it was gone. And she knew something wasn't right.

Tifa ran up to her front door and didn't even bother knocking on it. Everything about this place was exactly the same, up to the very flower pots on the ground beside the door which she was now attempting to open. But it was locked. Without pausing for a minute, she turned to the flower pots and pushed one aside. It revealed a spare key underneath. Tifa grabbed it as Cloud and her friends arrived behind her.

"How would I have known about this key if none of it were real?" Tifa asked herself as she unlocked the door. She forced it open and ran inside.

There was a man in the kitchen to her left. He turned towards her in surprise and shouted. Tifa ignored him as she turned towards a stairwell and ran upstairs. As she went, a terrifying sense of déjà vu overwhelmed her.

"Tifa!" Cloud shouted, running into the house after her. He paused immediately, taking in his surroundings. The house looked exactly as it had the last time he had been there. He glanced at the shocked man who lived there now. "Where'd she go?"

"You can't come in here like this!" the man shouted angrily. "That's trespassing! What do you want?"

"I'm really sorry about my friend," Cloud instinctively told the man, all the while thinking that it was _him_, and not Tifa, who was trespassing. "I don't think she's thinking straight at the moment. I'll get her out of here right away. Where'd she go?"

"Upstairs!" the man stated indignantly. Cloud nodded and ran towards the stairwell. He had a feeling he knew where she was going. He ran towards the upstairs door that led into Tifa's bedroom.

She was there, standing in the midst of a room that looked exactly like it had when she had last been there. It was her room. Everything about it looked the same, but for the pictures on her dresser. The frames... they were the same. But the pictures inside those frames were of another girl that Tifa did not recognize.

"Tifa," Cloud whispered, taking a step towards her. "You shouldn't be in here. Someone else lives here now."

"I have to find it," Tifa said, racing towards the bed. She knelt down beside it and tore back the covers from the mattress.

"Tifa," Cloud walked towards her and knelt down behind her. "That man's gonna be really angry."

"I don't care," Tifa said as she located a zipper on the mattress. She unzipped it and reached her hand inside the bed.

"What are you looking for?" Cloud asked as he listened to the sounds of a man walking up the stairwell.

"A picture!" Tifa told him. A picture that could prove to her whose memories were false. That is... if they _both_ weren't suffering from false memories. But as she reached through the mattress, her hand could not find the picture that had been taken five years ago. The picture Cloud had neglected to mention when he had related all those events in Kalm to Barret, Aeris, and Red Thirteen. The picture of her, Sephiroth, and Zack... Or of her, Sephiroth, and Cloud. The only problem was... it wasn't here.

"Damn it!" Tifa felt her tears intensify. She could barely see past them. "This entire place is exactly the same! Why isn't the picture here?" No one had ever known she used to hide things in her mattress. She hadn't told anyone. So if nothing had destroyed the town five years ago, if nothing in the town had changed at all, the picture should still be there.

"Come on," Cloud suggested, pulling her away from the mattress and onto her feet. At that moment, the man who apparently lived here appeared in the doorframe.

"What are you doing?" he demanded angrily. But that anger subsided a bit when he saw the tears pouring down Tifa's face. "What's going on?"

Cloud looked at him squarely in his eyes. "We'd like to know the same thing."

OOOOOOO

Meanwhile, Barret, Yuffie, Red Thirteen, and Cait Sithe were still outside and had gathered together on a sidewalk.

"I've been asking around," Barret told them softly. "No one here's ever heard of a fire five years ago."

"I'm confused," Yuffie said, crossing her arms. "I don't know anything about a fire at all."

"You two were not yet with us when Cloud and Tifa explained," Red Thirteen told the girl and Cait Sithe. "Apparently, they grew up here together. Seven years ago, Cloud went off to join SOLDIER. He returned five years ago with Sephiroth. Sephiroth went mad and burnt Nibelheim down. This place should, by all rights, be nothing more than a pile of ash."

"That's bizarre," Cait Sithe noted.

"What if it never happened?" Yuffie demanded. "What if they're wrong about it?"

"They both seem ta believe it," Barret said. "What's the chances they're both having the same hallucination?"

"Aside from Cait Sithe, we've all seen Sephiroth," Red Thirteen pointed out. "The three of them have to have some kind of connection."

"But on that boat," Yuffie said thoughtfully. "Sephiroth didn't seem to recognize Cloud. He recognized Tifa, but not Cloud."

"You'd think it'd be Cloud he'd recognize," Barret grumbled. "Not Tifa. So what gives?"

"They're coming back," Cait Sithe said, and they all turned to see Cloud and Tifa approaching their little group.

The mercenary glanced at each of them in turn, doing a mental headcount. He frowned. "Where's Aeris?"

OOOOOOO

Aeris was walking down a street as if in a trance, heading towards a corner where she could see a single figure sitting huddled on the ground. The figure was wrapped up underneath a big black cloak, barely moving, and without making a sound. The rest of the people in Nibelheim went about their business around him, ignoring him completely, as if they could not see him.

When Aeris reached the corner, she knelt down beside the cloaked figure. He didn't seem to acknowledge her presence at all, but he was whispering something. Aeris leaned in closer to him. "Are you okay?"

He did not answer her, but his words grew louder. "Reunion approaches. Reunion will soon come. Reunion. Reunion. It draws near."

Aeris found it hard to breathe. Reunion? What was that? "Are you looking for the Black Materia?"

"They will be at Reunion," he whispered, moving his arm out towards her. Aeris glanced down at it and could see his hand. There was a tattoo on it. A numeral tattoo. The number five.

"What does this mean?" Aeris asked, looking up into his face. But it was hidden by his black cloak.

"Reunion" was her only answer.

"Aeris!"

She glanced over her shoulder and could see Cloud, Tifa, and the others, hastening towards her. But when Cloud saw the figure beside her, cloaked in black, he hesitated, his face already unnaturally pale. But then, a moment later, he was at her side, kneeling down next to her and the cloaked figure.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Something about a Reunion," Aeris explained as the cloaked figure continued to whisper to them.

"Guys," Tifa's voice was drawn and terrified. Cloud and Aeris glanced up at her, but she wasn't looking at them. When they followed her gaze, they saw she was looking at two other figures hidden under black cloaks. Both of them were approaching Cloud and Aeris.

"Sephiroth," one of the black cloaked figures said, looking in Cloud's general direction. "He is near us now. Great Master... so close."

"Great Master?" Yuffie asked in slight distaste. "I think you're overestimating Sephiroth, kid."

"He is near," the figure insisted. "Great Master Sephiroth... Reunion."

"What's Reunion?" Cloud demanded. But the other figure in a black cloak had walked closer to the mercenary before the first could answer.

"Can you hear the voice of Sephiroth?" he asked. Cloud felt his heart rate skyrocket. His head began pounding fiercely. This was all too much at once! He felt a strange urge to just run somewhere where he could throw up. Something began buzzing in his ears. And then... Just two words. _"Wake up."_ Cloud felt his body shaking.

"Stop it," Tifa was backing away from the cloaked figures. "Just leave us alone!"

"Sephiroth is near," the first one told them. "The Great Master... You can find him... where you found him before."

"Where we found him..." Cloud stared at the two figures before glancing at the one who knelt beside him. He could see the tattoo on the figure's hand, and guessed the two standing ones had similar tattoos as well. He shivered as comprehension flowed into him. Where they had found Sephiroth before... He stood up. "The Shinra Mansion."


	28. Haunted Mansion

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Haunted Mansion**

It did not take the group long at all to gather in front of the great Shinra Mansion. Tifa had seen it on their way into Nibelheim, but only now did she truly _see_ it. See it for what it truly was. A beautiful three story building that had, according to Cloud, a hidden basement, and tons of other secrets none of them could possibly know about.

The mansion was an extraordinary piece of architecture. It had a beautiful porch and large, arched double doors with two pillars on either side. There were dozens of grand windows, some shaped as narrow arches, others as circles, but all of them with extreme taste. On the roof of the mansion, there were a couple of gables, and one short tower.

But for all its glory, the mansion had long since been abandoned. Tifa did not remember a time when someone had lived there. To her it looked, for all the world, desolate, dark, and just plain old haunted. As a kid, she and her friends used to speak of it as being such. They scared each other with their stories of the ghosts and monsters that lived within the walls of the Shinra Mansion. She, herself, had never found enough courage to set foot inside. She wondered if she would be able to now as she and her friends stood on its overgrown lawn, staring up at it in awe.

"So, um," Yuffie glanced nervously over at Cloud. "Ya really think Sephiroth's somewhere in there?"

"I have no idea," Cloud admitted while looking up at the mansion, extremely unsettled. "Kind of seems too easy."

"It could be a trap," Red Thirteen noted. "He does know we are following him, yes?"

"Course he does," Barret scoffed. "But that aside, ya'd have ta be a _real_ moron ta walk in ta a place like _that_." He shook his head. "Damn place looks haunted."

"It is haunted," Tifa acknowledged. She glanced at Cloud. "I don't really want to go in there. I've heard so many stories..."

"What kind of stories?" Aeris asked, naturally interested.

"Stories of monsters," Tifa replied. "There's a creature living in the depths of the mansion. A horrible creature that wails in the night."

"Really?" Yuffie asked, perking right up. _She_ had always loved a good ghost story.

"Oh please," Cait Sithe crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "The only monster I can think of who'd be in there is Sephiroth himself. Honestly, Tifa, I'm surprised in you. I wouldn't have guessed you were the superstitious type."

"She's not," Cloud jumped to her defense. "But we grew up on stories like this."

"Every town has a place with its own mysteries to frighten little kids," Cait Sithe replied. "You're supposed to outgrow that."

"Can't if they're true," Aeris pointed out. She glanced at the mercenary. "But you've been inside before, right? Were there any monsters?"

"I had other things on my mind," Cloud told her. "Sephiroth... He _was_ the monster." He glanced at Tifa. "You don't have to come in if you don't want to. But if you do, you won't be alone."

"Yah," Barret nodded his head encouragingly. "Safety in numbers, Tifa! We'll find Sephiroth, kick his butt, then find that monster of ya's, an' kick its butt too!"

Tifa took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay." She'd walked headfirst into worse things before, she told herself. This should be a piece of cake.

"I'll go first," Cloud volunteered. He glanced at Barret, more for Tifa's sake than for anything else. "You got the rear?" Barret nodded. With that sorted through, Cloud cautiously walked up the porch steps with Tifa right behind him. Cait Sithe followed, mechanically forcing his moogle to hop from one step up onto the next. Yuffie and Aeris walked together with Red Thirteen behind them and Barret last of all.

The front doors were easy to push open. Cloud himself felt extreme déjà vu, and could almost picture himself doing this very same thing five years ago. It was very unsettling.

The front hall was huge. Several chandeliers hung from the ceiling, but none of them were lit. The carpet appeared dark blue in the poor lighting – the only source of which came in through the windows. Whatever furniture there was were covered under dusty white sheets. There were cobwebs on the walls and on whatever portraits or tapestries that remained hanging. Everything seemed old and miserable. It was, Yuffie thought, the _epitome_ of a haunted house.

At the back of the front hall, there was a grand staircase that led up towards the second floor, only to split both right and left halfway there, and _those_ two staircases led the rest of the way up. The second floor, from what they could tell, was a landing that wrapped around the front hall, splitting off towards the east and west wings of the mansion. And Cloud motioned that they should go up those stairs.

"Are ya sure?" Yuffie asked, hesitating slightly. For she was starting to agree with Tifa. Instinct told her to race outside and run as far as she could in the other direction.

"Yeah," Cloud replied, however. "I've done this before." If Sephiroth was somewhere in the mansion, then he was probably in the hidden basement. And you had to go upstairs to get down there.

So the group made their way upstairs. Cloud then led them towards the east wing, and they made their way into a small room on that side. No one spoke as they progressed. They were too tense, too uptight, and just too nervous, for words. They were all listening intently for some sound... _any_ sound... that might speak of Sephiroth, or monsters in general. But they heard none.

The room that Cloud brought them into had a great pillar built into the side of its wall. Not far from it, there was a mantle on which several pieces of ornamentation offered decoration. Cloud pushed one such ornament into the mantle, which caused the pillar's surface to slide round into the wall. Inside, there was a spiraling stairwell that led down into the depths of the mansion and the ground itself.

"Damn," Barret stared at the secret passage in some concern. He had never doubted its existence or anything, but now that he was actually standing there in front of it, and expected to go in... Who _wouldn't_ be nervous?

"There should be a rule," Yuffie told them, her voice sounding rather strained. "Don't go down dark passages. May lead into the very depths of hell."

"It just leads into a basement," Aeris tried assuring them. "There's nothing sinister about that."

Cloud grabbed his yellow Materia from his belt and held it up. Light poured down the stairs. "What's sinister is who may be down there."

"He hasn't tried to kill you guys yet, has he?" Cait Sithe demanded.

"Well," Cloud shrugged. "He sent a monster after us on the boat from Junon. But he himself hasn't bothered with killing us. Yet."

"Still not very comforting," Barret grumbled.

"Come on," Cloud said, heading first down the stairs. The rest followed with Barret still taking the rear.

Down the spiraling stairs, they found themselves standing on a dirt floor in a tunnel that led off to their right. They were in the process of walking down that tunnel when suddenly something near the portion of the wall they were presently passing toppled down onto the floor with a loud clatter.

Yuffie shrieked, her cry echoing through the tunnel as all the others stopped short, their bodies as tense as wood, entirely unable to breathe. Tifa's eyes were shut tightly as the others looked around for the source of the unexpected crash.

"Oh," Aeris let out a slow breath. "It's just a coffin."

"_Just a coffin_?" Yuffie shrieked in alarm. "Aeris! What do you mean, 'just a coffin'?" Coffins meant _vampires_ for crying out loud!

"How'd it fall over?" Barret demanded, but before anyone could answer, the coffin suddenly jerked on its own with an audible 'bang'.

"Cloud!" Tifa backed away in horror. It was true! It was all true! This place was haunted! There _were_ monsters here!

"I hope you learn something from this!" Yuffie spat at Cait Sithe, who was lying flat on his moogle in complete terror.

Red Thirteen scurried next to Tifa and leaned against her with his great body mass, as if hoping he could offer her some comfort as both Cloud and Barret raced over to the coffin. Barret held it down, as it was continuing to jerk around savagely, and Cloud struggled to pop the lid open.

"What are you doing?" Yuffie squealed. "Do you _want_ it to come out and drain your body of all its blood through your very neck?"

"What are you talking about?" Red Thirteen demanded.

But Cloud and Barret weren't paying any attention. And a few minutes later, Cloud managed to wrench the lid loose. It fell open easily after that, and as it did, the coffin suddenly grew perfectly still. And as Cloud and Barret gazed inside of it, they found themselves staring at another man whose eyes suddenly flashed opened.

"Whoa!" Cloud and Barret both practically fell over backwards as they scrambled away from the coffin. Out of every possible thing they could have imagined causing that coffin to move like that, they had certainly _not_ expected a human being!

"What was it?" Yuffie asked, her voice a high pitched squeal.

Before anyone could answer, the man sat up. Everyone gasped in shock as he looked around at them. He was a young man – or so he seemed. He didn't look any older than thirty, but there was something about him... some quality that gave him the air of someone who had seen the world for what it was and was tired of it. He was dressed completely in thick red clothes, and a red band wrapped around his forehead. His hair was long and black, with some of it falling over his face – which was unnaturally pale. His eyes were dark and worn and full of sadness.

For a moment, no one moved or said anything at all. Cloud and his friends waited for the stranger to move first, all the while wondering how hostile he was going to be. But when the stranger's eyes landed on Aeris, they widened not in hostility, but in amazed recognition.

He sat up straighter and stared at Aeris uncertainly. "Infalna?" His voice was soft and low, but held a strange musical quality to it that surprised all of them. Aeris most of all.

She stepped towards the stranger in shock, hardly able to breathe. "Infalna? She was my mother! How do you know that name?"

"Your mother?" the stranger blinked at Aeris in wonder. Then he glanced at Cloud and the others. "She was...? How long has it been, I wonder...?"

"How long has it been?" Aeris asked, staring at the stranger in incredulity. "Since what? Please... How do you know my mother?"

"Answer her," Cloud demanded. The stranger glanced at the mercenary with a frown.

"Leave this place," he suddenly told them in a louder, more authoritative, but still mysterious, voice. "There is no good here. It is but the beginning of your nightmares."

"You can say that again," Cloud grumbled.

Those words caught the man's attention. He glanced towards Cloud uncertainly. "What was that?"

"We're already caught up in a nightmare," Tifa said dejectedly. The stranger glanced at her, then back at Cloud, as he considered their words.

"What sort of nightmare?" he asked reluctantly, as if he asked against his better judgment.

"We're looking for a man named Sephiroth," Aeris explained, once again open to a fault with strangers. "You knew my mother... I am the last Cetra, and we seek to save the planet from Sephiroth. He's searching for the Promised Land, and we fear what he will do should he find it. Please... what can you tell us?"

"Sephiroth is a man now," the stranger was frowning in misery. "It truly has been many years." He shook his head. "I have slept so long, seeking atonement. You would know more than I."

"But you could know something we don't!" Aeris pleaded.

"Perhaps," the man agreed. "But first... tell me what has happened."

Aeris spun around towards the mercenary. "Please, Cloud! He knew my mother! There has to be _something_ he can tell us!"

Cloud nodded. At this moment, there was nothing Aeris could ask for that he would not give. He gazed at the stranger. "Five years ago, Sephiroth and I were both members of SOLDIER. We came to Nibelheim on a mission, and it was here that Sephiroth realized how different he was from the rest of us. He learned of a project called Jenova, and realized he was some kind of a twisted experiment."

At those words, the stranger grimaced and looked away, as if what Cloud was saying brought him physical pain. Cloud hesitated, but only until the man told him to continue.

"He went mad. He burnt down Nibelheim and killed many people. I tried stopping him, but something must have happened during that, because I've lost memory of how it ended. The next thing I knew, I was in Midgar, and Sephiroth was rumored to be dead. But just recently, he appeared again. He's started killing, and he took Jenova with him. Now he's looking for the Promised Land and we want to stop him."

"Wow," Barret was staring at Cloud, impressed. "The condensed version. Real time safer, ain't it?"

"Shut up," Yuffie glowered at him.

"Sephiroth..." the stranger was no longer looking at any of them. His gaze was focused intently on his lap, as he considered Cloud's words. "Jenova... The project... and her cells..." He began to tremble slightly, as images swept through his mind's sight. Images of his past... Too many to sort through, and too painful to even try. "Yet another sin I must atone for," he whispered miserably.

"What all do you know?" Cloud asked. "Anything at all that you could tell us would be a real help."

The man shook his head and looked away. "Nothing I do would ever help anyone. I am sorry."

Cloud frowned, taking a small step towards the man. "But-"

Before he could finish that question, a shadow swept over them, momentarily darkening the room. A strange sound came from farther down the tunnel to their right.

"Cloud..." Tifa whispered in fear as they all turned towards it. The distraction that had come in the form of what must have been their 'childhood monster' came to a terrifying end as they remembered who it was they were actually looking for down here.

"You know something...?" Yuffie asked nervously. "The longer we stay down here, the more convinced I am at how very possible it is that _he's_ down here, too."

The stranger glanced at her with a frown. "Who?"

"Sephiroth," Cloud whispered, turning away from the man in the coffin and heading farther down the tunnel. Red Thirteen, Aeris, and Barret quickly followed. Yuffie and Cait Sithe did as well, but more slowly. Tifa hesitated, and the stranger was quick to observe her fear. He gracefully pushed himself out of his coffin.

Tifa heard him and spun around towards him in alarm, her fists slightly raised. He cocked his head at her, but did not approach her.

"Are you coming?" he asked before he too turned and followed Cloud and the others. Tifa hesitated only a moment longer before she followed the stranger as well.

Cloud quickly led them into a large chamber that was lit by several different sources. Lamps, candles, even one small bit of Materia that made Cloud's unnecessary. He quickly tied his Materia back onto his belt as he took in the sight of the hidden basement. It looked like a large laboratory, with several counters and flasks, and even a large testing tank! There were also several bookshelves pushed up against the walls, piled with books from end to end, top to bottom. It was in front of one such shelf that Sephiroth now stood with his back to them.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud shouted as he and his friends all came to a quick stop, their hearts pounding in their throats which no longer accepted any oxygen at all. Only the stranger seemed able to keep his composure as he pushed past the others until he was calmly standing beside Cloud, watching Sephiroth in curiosity.

The warrior was not looking at them. He had hardly moved at all when they had entered the room behind him. When he spoke, his voice was soft and frighteningly calm. "Being here brings back memories." At last he slowly turned around to gaze intently at Cloud. He completely ignored the others, staring at the mercenary with brutal, but composed, interest. It was very disconcerting, Cloud felt. Sephiroth lifted his chin, to better look down at the boy. "Are you going to participate in Reunion?"

Cloud felt his body trembling as he slightly stepped backwards. He felt like he was in a world all to himself with just Sephiroth. He was isolated, alone, and vulnerable. Helpless, even. Were Sephiroth to try and slay him now, Cloud doubted he would be able to defend himself. "I don't even know what a Reunion is!"

Sephiroth appeared amused by that. When he spoke next, his voice was calculated and patronizing, but still ever so soft. "Jenova will be at the Reunion." His gaze was hard and cold, piercing through Cloud as if he could see into the boy's soul. "Jenova will join the Reunion and thus once more become a calamity from the skies."

Cloud wanted to scream in his growing frustration. Things weren't getting any clearer! They were just growing more confusing! "Calamity from the skies? You mean she wasn't an Ancient?"

Sephiroth stared at Cloud impassively, but it was obvious that he wasn't pleased. He slowly and gracefully lifted up his left hand, holding his palm out in front of him. Resting on it was a small blue orb. Materia.

When Yuffie saw it, she made to step towards it, but Barret immediately reached out towards her and held her back with his good arm.

Sephiroth looked down at his Materia, making no sign of acknowledging Cloud's friends. When he looked back up again, his gaze was still solidly fixed on Cloud himself. "I don't think you have the right to participate."

For a moment, Sephiroth said nothing more, and neither could anyone else in the room. The warrior continued to study Cloud, his eyes hard, interested in the boy, but cold, and painfully cruel. Cloud tried staring back at Sephiroth, but he found that he could not _begin_ to match the older, more experienced warrior. Under Sephiroth's gaze, Cloud faltered. He looked down.

Sephiroth made no sign of satisfaction in subjugating the boy. He made no sign of even noticing or caring about it. He just continued to stare at him, until he had at last come to some kind of decision. He spoke. "I will go north past Mt. Nibel. If you wish to find out... then follow."

The Materia in his hand suddenly flashed bright blue, and a moment later Sephiroth had completely vanished, as if he had not even been there at all.

"Hey!" Yuffie scrambled forward. "Come back here!" She pouted. "I want that Materia."

"You're insane," Cait Sithe promptly informed her.

"Hardly!" Yuffie shot back. "That Materia was like nothing I've ever seen before! It must be how he disappeared from the boat off the shore of Costa del Sol!"

Cait Sithe stared at her in pure bewilderment. "Huh?"

"Cloud..." Tifa scrambled over to him in a near panic. Being so close to Sephiroth again... It had had the same effect on her as it had on the boat from Junon. She hadn't been able to breathe. She hadn't been able to move. She had been completely and utterly beside herself in terror. Tears were filling in her eyes. "What was he talking about?"

Cloud shook his head. "I don't know." All he knew was how terrible his body felt. Weak, and ill. His head was pounding and his ears were ringing. What power did Sephiroth have over him to have such an effect on him?

Aeris took a small step farther into the room, her face drawn and pale. "Reunion is when Jenova will become a calamity from the skies. Like she was once before. Which means she wasn't an Ancient."

"No," the stranger told them, as if it were common knowledge. Everyone turned towards him in surprise, and he shrugged. "Jenova was a monster. _Is_ a monster, I should say."

"You do know something," Aeris stated. She gazed at him stubbornly. "You have to tell us everything."

The man nodded. "I will tell you what I can. First of all, my name... It is Vincent Valentine. I was once with the ShinRa Manufacturing Department in Administrative Research. Otherwise known as the Turks."

"You were a Turk?" Cloud stared at Vincent in sudden mistrust. But the man countered rather quickly.

"As you apparently were with SOLDIER," he reminded the mercenary. "But I no longer have any affiliation with ShinRa now. Official records state that I am dead."

"Well, clearly official records are overrated," Yuffie grumbled. Vincent actually smiled at that comment, and nodded.

"Much of what you find in official records are cover stories," he told them, not that that was surprising or anything. "In fact, everything in the records surrounding the Jenova Project are part of a cover story. A very intricate one, at that."

Cait Sithe crossed his arms, clearly skeptical. "It can't all be lies, can it?"

"Oh, yes it can," Vincent replied calmly. "For example, Jenova was not an Ancient. She was a monster."

"Which means Sephiroth wasn't an Ancient," Cloud guessed.

"Why should he be?" Vincent asked softly. "Jenova is not even his mother."

"What?" Cloud stepped backwards, as all of them stared at Vincent in complete surprise. None of them could believe it! After all of this? And Jenova wasn't even Sephiroth's mother? "What do you mean?"

"Sephiroth was born to a beautiful lady named Lucrecia," Vincent explained. "Back then, it was believed that Jenova was an Ancient. Lucrecia was an assistant to Professor Gast of the Jenova Project. When she was found to be with child, she, Gast, and Hojo used to hypothesis what might happen if a fetus was injected with Jenova cells. But it was all just speculation. They never once considered actually testing on a human baby. Until one night when there was a terrible misunderstanding." At this point, Vincent glanced away from them, as if the memories were all too much for him to bear. "To right the mistakes that were made that night, Lucrecia injected herself with Jenova cells. She could see nothing wrong with it, for Jenova was an Ancient, and Ancients were pure and good. She believed all would be well, and that she and her baby would help contribute to the greatest discovery in all of history. It was only later when they realized Jenova was a monster. And from there, things only grew worse. When Sephiroth was born, he was taken from his parents. I was told Lucrecia had died, but of this I have no proof. I myself was then used in several experiments before I ended up in that coffin. Since then, I have slept the years through."

"You must be really hungry," Yuffie noted. But no one else in the room seemed to appreciate her joke, and she glared dejectedly at the ground.

"The cover story was that the man Lucrecia had loved had died," Vincent continued. "And that she could not bear life without him. The Jenova cells were not injected into her baby until after the baby had been delivered, and only after Lucrecia had pleaded it be done. It was her last contribution to the project before she killed herself. But there was a third cover story... the official one. It did not even mention Lucrecia. Sephiroth's mother was Jenova, and Jenova was an Ancient."

"That's incredible," Aeris whispered. "It's so hard to believe."

"This changes everything," Cloud said softly, feeling rather hollow. "Everything we thought was true... isn't."

"How could you have known all this and still be living in a box?" Barret demanded, somewhat angrily. "Don't you gotta conscience?"

"I have sinned," the Turk acknowledged, bowing his head slightly before them. "And I was not aware how many consequences there truly were to all of this. I apologize."

"So what do we do now?" Tifa asked, her voice close to breaking. Her heart was very near to breaking as well. There were tears in her eyes. "I have less of a home now than I did before. It stands outside unchanged... exactly as it was... but it is not mine. They say there never was a fire... and that I never lived here. And that none of it ever happened. But Sephiroth... he remembers it too. And I just feel so helpless."

Vincent frowned and glanced at each of his new companions. "Were you all in Nibelheim five years ago?"

"No," Cloud said. "It was just me and Tifa. We were the only ones who knew Sephiroth back then. Every else here only became a part of it all very recently."

"I see," Vincent said, looking back at Tifa with eyes filled by his own misery.

"And what of Tifa's question?" Red Thirteen asked. "Where do we go now?"

"North," Cloud replied quickly. "Past Mt. Nibel. At this point, all we can do is follow Sephiroth." The others nodded, but none of them seemed thrilled by the idea.

"Perhaps," Vincent suggested softly. "I could go with you?" Everyone glanced at him in surprise, and he shrugged. "Being a former Turk, I may be of some use to you. And besides. I need to find a way to make my own amends. Would I be welcome?"

Cloud shrugged. "I guess." A moment later, he nodded. "Sure. You've already proved helpful, Vincent."

"Good," the former Turk nodded, and turned from the basement. "Then let us waste no more time here." He started out towards the tunnel and the stairs that would lead back up into the haunted mansion. The others followed, and only Cloud and Tifa seemed to hesitate.

Cloud glanced at his childhood friend. He immediately noticed that she was holding tightly to the gray Materia he had given her so long ago.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked her gently. She looked at him, her tears bright in her eyes.

"I don't think so," she admitted. "I freeze in front of Sephiroth. And... there is so much I can't remember and don't understand. Our home is... It'll never be the same again. I think I'm finally accepting that nothing will ever go back to the way it was. And it hurts and it terrifies me."

Cloud nodded and reached for her hand. He didn't know what to tell her, so instead he held that hand protectively, gently turning and leading her out of the room and back into the tunnel that would eventually lead them both back out to the world above.


	29. A Moment for Meaning

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: A Moment for Meaning**

The sun had descended beyond the mountains and the sky had long since grown dark by the time Cloud and his companions had settled down on Mt. Nibel for the night. They had made their way out of Nibelheim as soon as they had left the Shinra Mansion. It was not so difficult for Cloud or Tifa to leave their home behind as they might have expected it to be. No. They were all too eager to leave.

_It's because it's not really Nibelheim anymore,_ Tifa thought sadly, sitting huddled, alone, in the darkness of the cavern they had taken shelter in. It was a cavern that she recognized, as she had spent much time in many of the Mt. Nibel caves during her childhood. But their familiarity brought her little comfort, as much as she had always imagined it would be otherwise. For she was beginning to realize and accept that all it was was just an incredible illusion. Her home had been burnt to the ground five years ago. And when she had been taken from the mountain and over the sea to Midgar, she had lost it for good. She wouldn't be able to find it again. The fact that she was there at that moment, with Nibelheim rebuilt, and the Reactor just a few miles behind her atop the mountain, and just being on the mountain itself, was a terrible cruelty she could barely endure. So she wanted to leave. She wanted to continue with their quest to find Sephiroth and save the planet. She wanted to put Nibelheim farther behind her. Or risk losing entirely whatever control she still had over her emotions and her heart itself.

It was hard enough to keep from crying now that the sun had set and the stars were shining up in the sky outside the cavern. The others, Tifa realized, were by that point already asleep. Cloud, Aeris, Barret, Red Thirteen, Yuffie, Cait Sithe... They had all found enough peace of mind to at least allow them rest. But Tifa couldn't... Not even with Aeris's comforting presence. Not in this cavern... warm and dry and practically painted with the colors of greenish Mako energy.

It was hauntingly familiar. The cavern was filled with phantoms of Tifa's childhood. As Nibelheim had been. They were windows into a world that Tifa once knew, but could now never again be part of. And it hurt so much that all she wanted to do was cry. She couldn't hope for sleep. She doubted that she would ever be fortunate enough to find such an escape again.

Vincent, too, she could sense, was sitting silently awake in the night. Since they had left Nibelheim, Aeris and Yuffie had taken on the role of introducing him to the group and making sure he felt welcome, as they had with Cait Sithe. The man was by far more reserved than the cat was, however, and was easily capable of competing with Cloud and Red Thirteen on the silent, thoughtful scale. He was apparently proficient with weapons. Firearms, to be more specific. He carried a pair of handguns, and considering he was once a Turk, Tifa had no reason to doubt that he knew how to handle them. And with them adding to his silent, solid presence, one could definitely sense his power. He was incredibly imposing. But at the same time, his quiet composure managed to offer reassurance. There was no question in anyone's mind that they would be better off with him as an ally.

Presently, Tifa watched as he silently rose to his feet and stepped outside the cave, walking out onto the rather crisp mountainside. Curious, she stood to follow him.

There was a cool breeze outside that kissed her face as soon as she left the cavern's shelter. She shivered slightly, but noticed how it didn't bother Vincent at all. He was standing not too far away, staring up at the moon. It was on its wane, but nevertheless it was bright and calming.

"You grew up in Nibelheim," Vincent stated, sensing her presence and not needing to turn around to see her. "It's hard to believe so many years have passed by."

"We're the only ones still awake," Tifa told him quietly. "I can take watch if you want to sleep. You don't have to worry about nightmares or anything. Jenova might not be, but Aeris really is an Ancient. And with her near, it's easy to sleep well."

"Thank you," Vincent finally turned towards her. "I've been sleeping for longer than you have been alive, however. I do not wish for it." The look he was casting her spoke clearly in her mind. That it was she who required rest, and not him.

"Fine," she said after a moment. She could think of no other reason to speak with him, and though she knew that sleep would not come to her that night, she nevertheless turned to head back into the cave.

"Earlier today," Vincent's words halted her retreat, and she glanced back at him as he spoke. "Aeris mentioned something about a monster living in a haunted house."

Tifa felt her face flush in slight embarrassment, and she looked away. "Cait Sithe was right. It was just a childish superstition. It meant nothing." It was hard to believe, she thought on reflection, that this man who stood before her had been the source of all the ghost and monster stories that had both frightened and thrilled the children of Nibelheim so many years before. What had once been a bedtime story for her had now been given actual tangibility, and was both real and true in the form of a powerful, though somewhat tragic-struck, former Turk. Her bedtime stories were real now, too, just as her nightmares were real, in the form of a monster like Sephiroth. Before this ended, she could not help but wonder, would any other imaginings, good or bad, become real as well?

Seven years ago, she had never thought things would be like this. She had truly believed she would grow up and live a boring, uneventful life, filled with simple bedtime stories and nothing more. What happened, she wondered, that brought so much fantasy to life? She had never asked for any of this. She had certainly not chosen it. Was fate so cruel? And with all the other girls who lived in Nibelheim, why did it have to be _her_? And if some things were just meant to be, then why were they meant to hurt?

"Meanings," Vincent said, replying to her own previous statement or somehow responding to her very thoughts. "I doubt they are even meant to be understood. But consider this, Tifa. A creature, whether real or make-believe, that frightened you when you were young, is ready to help you face another being that frightens you now. And that right there is a rather ironic, intricate display of providence, if you ask me. It might help to keep such things in mind when the rest of the world seems too somber."

"In times like that for you," Tifa asked softly, still unable to look at him. "Do you think of such things?"

"No," Vincent spoke honestly, as memories of Lucrecia, Hojo, and all that had happened between the three of them so many years ago, swept through his mind and heart. "My mind does not have the room."


	30. The Would Be Astronaut

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Would Be Astronaut**

When morning came, neither Tifa nor Vincent had slept as much as the others had. And yet, Tifa was surprised to find that her body seemed just as rested as it would have been if she had, for after their conversation, he had told her to return to the cave while he kept watch, which she had done, and then had spent many of the following hours simply meditating on his words. It wasn't so much his words as it had been his perspective. There was something unique about the way he thought and spoke that was slightly refreshing, and that, more than anything else, brought her comfort. She did not know why. And so when she finally did sleep, with the added comfort generating from Aeris's spirit, she had somehow managed to get sufficient rest. And as for Vincent himself, as he had said, he had spent so much time in hibernation that one sleepless night would not hinder him in the least.

So without any hesitation at all, the group continued to journey north, after Sephiroth. They quickly put Mt. Nibel behind them, and before long they had cleared the entire Nibel Mountain range.

Days passed, and with those days, the group began healing from the shock they had found themselves in while in Nibelheim. Their spirits rose, especially in Aeris, Yuffie, and Cait Sithe, who always seemed to possess abundant optimism. They did good for the rest of their companions.

So their journey continued, and before too long, it led them to a tiny village called Rocket Town.

OOOOOOO

Rocket Town was incredibly minute, as far as community circles went. It could not honestly be identified as a town, as it hardly passed for a village. There were only a few wooden homes, all built along its single dirt road. White picket fences gave it some elegance, and in addition to the wide fields that surrounded it, and the trees that grew verdantly within it, it was, despite its pitiful size, a rather fresh, attractive little retreat. That was, however, only if one could bring oneself to overlook the single, though incredibly large, landmark that gave the town its name.

The rocket was gigantic. It was the single aspect of the town that made it look somewhat modern. The only problem was, it was an old, rundown rocket covered in its own blanket of rust. A portion of its launch pad had completely broken off, leaving the rocket tilted at quite the angle. The rocket was the size of skyscraper, rivaling the titanic height of ShinRa Headquarters, and with it tilted as it was, it seemed miraculous that it didn't simply fall over and crush everything beneath it.

Hardly attractive, it was the one thing about the town that blighted its otherwise calm, warm, and refreshing exterior. It brought about the town a presence of worn, tired age, brokenness, and loss. All in all, it seemed really bittersweet, on such a beautiful day.

Of course, the rocket was the first thing Cloud and his friends had noticed, long before they could even see the village. They talked about it as they approached, wondering such things as its purpose, its size, what might have caused it to tilt in such a manner, and why it had been neglected since.

But by the time they had arrived at the first white picket fence leading into the village, they had done enough theorizing and plain old guessing that they were ready to completely ignore it as soon as inquire about it. After all, they had more important things to contend with than a tilted old rusty rocket. Seeing as how there were still several hours of daylight left, they planned on hurrying through the village and continuing north as they had been doing for the last several days of their journey. However, that plan abruptly changed as they were passing by one of the larger of houses in the tiny village.

There were very few people in the village when they had entered. Cloud figured most of the healthy villagers were out in the fields farming or such, as no one seemed to be in the actual town itself. It didn't bother the mercenary, because it allowed him and the others to pass through quickly and without too much attention.

But as they went, Cloud's gaze wandered over behind a certain large house and into its backyard that had, a moment before, been concealed by the walls of that house. As far as backyards went, it was huge. It actually opened up into a large field of its own. Parked there, facing the field as if waiting to propel itself furiously forward and away from the town, there sat an actual airplane!

"Hey, check it out," he suggested, stopping short to stare at it. The others quickly followed his lead, and Aeris immediately let out a sharp cry of utter delight. She may have been in a helicopter before, but there was definitely a difference between copters and planes, and a huge difference between a forced ride and a voluntary one.

The plane was small and reddish, with four wings and three seats. Cloud quickly figured that Red Thirteen and Cait Sithe's moogle could both fit in two of those seats, which would leave one open for the pilot, and then plenty of space on the wings for the rest of the group to hang on. Cloud himself remembered being in such a plane once – they were incredibly small and not that fast, and rather easy to hang on to even when in the air... so long as you were tied down, that was. There was definite potential here.

"You gotta be kidding me," Cait Sithe complained as the group drew towards the field and the plane itself. "It's ShinRa property! See the logo?" There was, in fact, a ShinRa logo on the side of the plane. Underneath that was the name 'Tiny Bronco'.

"Damn ShinRa," Barret complained. "Always keeping the most useful things ta themselves." With that said, he turned towards Cloud and suggested the very thing the rest of them had all been thinking. "Let's steal it."

"Are you crazy?" Cait Sithe demanded hotly. "There's no way we'd all fit in that thing! I don't know about the rest of you, but _I'm_ not suicidal!"

"Ya're just scared," Barret accused.

"It's possible to fit on that," Cloud stated. "I've seen it done on similar planes. Not that they survived any of their missions, but..." He shrugged and glanced at Vincent. "Know how to fly one of these?"

"I don't wanna!" Yuffie complained. "I got sick on a _boat_! How do you expect me to survive in the sky?"

"No one asked _us_ to come along," Cait Sithe quickly interjected, eager to get back at Yuffie for her remarks the last time he had expressed his own opinion. "Remember? We don't get a say."

"And unfortunately for you," Aeris said with a grin. "No one else seems to have a problem with the idea." She glanced towards Tifa, Red Thirteen, and Vincent, all of whom had been silent up to that point. "Right?"

"A plane could help us catch up with Sephiroth," Red Thirteen conceded. "More so than any truck, at least."

"Unfortunately," Vincent said, looking at Cloud. "I do not have experience with airplanes."

"Don't worry about that," Cloud said, and was about to address Tifa when another voice, a female, interrupted him.

"May I help you?"

"No!" Cloud and the others immediately spun around to find themselves staring at a petite woman who looked to be in her late twenties. She wore glasses and her hair was neatly pulled back, but in a way that made her look more naively innocent than anything else. She seemed gentle. Her voice certainly was, and somewhat timid at that.

Nevertheless, Cloud stared at her in defensive apprehension. "We're just looking at it."

And then the woman surprised them with what seemed to be a knowing smile. "If you want to use it, please just ask the Captain. You should find him somewhere around the rocket." She hesitated a moment, finally getting around to actually taking in the appearance of the strange group before her. She bit her lip. "I'm Shera. What are your names?"

"Do you honestly think you'll be able to remember all of them?" Yuffie asked, crossing her arms challengingly.

"Ignore Yuffie," Aeris quickly stepped forward with a reassuring smile that Shera seemed to immediately take to. "I'm Aeris." She quickly introduced the others, obviously daunting the woman somewhat, but not enough to completely scare her off. That in itself was impressive.

"So I guess you're not with ShinRa then," she said with a disappointed sigh. When the entire group frowned at her, and with Barret looking to make some angry reply, Shera quickly hastened to explain. "I just thought the approval for the reopening of the space program had finally come. President Rufus is scheduled to arrive soon, and the Captain's been so restless all morning."

_That_ certainly caught their attention. They all glanced at each other nervously before Cloud glanced back at Shera. "What's he coming here for?" None of them had realized Rufus had the time to even _consider_ a space program.

"You'd have to ask the Captain for the details," Shera admitted, her face flushing somewhat. "I'm afraid I have some work to finish up before he returns from the rocket. I'd actually be grateful if you would talk to him and distract him for even just a couple of minutes. You know, get him thinking about something else for a change. I'd do it, but there are just too many... circumstances... for me to be real effective."

"Of course," Aeris assured her. "We'd love to help out."

"Aeris..." Barret glanced at her uncertainly, but the Cetra just grinned enthusiastically.

"Could be worth it," she pointed out cheerfully. "Come on. Let's go!" She scurried off towards the rusting rocket with Yuffie on her heels. The rest of the group followed with more grace, though both Barret and Cait Sithe seemed incredibly reluctant to do so. For Barret was eager to steal the Tiny Bronco before Rufus arrived, and Cait Sithe simply wanted to continue forward on foot as soon as possible.

"What's the big idea?" Barret demanded when he and the cat finally caught up with the rest. "Aeris, do we got time for this?"

"Come on, Barret," Aeris said playfully. "If Rufus is coming here, then one way or another, it's gotta be related to Sephiroth, right? Whatever this Captain knows could be useful. So we gotta _make_ time."

Cloud nodded. "She's right." What he didn't say was that even if she wasn't, he more than likely still would have followed her. Aeris beamed.

When they reached the foot of the rocket, they were once again struck by its sheer size and tragic tilt. It reminded them of how any archeologist or explorer must feel when walking among ancient ruins for the first time. Even Cait Sithe couldn't help but appreciate the sorrowful mood left by the rocket. The sense of loss and even something of failure.

Standing not far from the rocket itself was another man. He looked to be at least thirty, but no older than thirty five. He had a mop of blonde hair, and wore brown boots, black pants, a thick blue jacket, a yellow scarf, and brown gloves. He wasn't quite as tall as Vincent, but he was solidly built and looked strong enough. There were a pair of goggles on his forehead, and a cigarette in his mouth as he stared intently up at the rocket, apparently in deep concentration. His face, with its tan, weathered complexion, seemed slightly hostile, and yet, they would later realize, there was nevertheless a kind of warmth in his deep, thoughtful blue eyes.

Presently, Aeris was walking directly towards him. "Are you the Captain?"

Not even favoring her with a glance, the man held up a hand to stop and quickly shush her. "Wait!" He hastened to round off a string of numbers that meant absolutely nothing to rest of the group before he was finally satisfied and turned towards them. "Last minute calculations. Who're you guys?"

"We were told the Captain was here," Cloud said, coming up behind Aeris.

"Captain?" the man frowned. "I'm the Captain. The name's Cid Highwind. Everyone calls me Captain, though." He glared at the strange group in front of him suspiciously. "What d'ya want?"

"Oh," Cloud was quick to improvise. "We were just passing through the town, here, and of course, we couldn't help but notice the rocket. And we were just wondering what could have happened to it."

Vincent cocked his head slightly, looking over at Cloud, impressed. It was amazing how good the kid was at deception. He almost had the _Turk_ fooled.

"So," the man crossed his arms and glared critically at Cloud. "You want me to explain it ta you." Cid shrugged. "And why shouldn't ya? I'm obviously the most qualified person here to do it."

"And the most arrogant," Yuffie observed softly.

"What was that?" Cid whirled towards her with a scowl. "Did you say something?"

"Nope!" Yuffie quickly shook her head. Cid glared at her suspiciously.

"Don't mind Yuffie," Tifa suggested. "Go ahead and tell us about the rocket. We'd be very grateful."

"Yeah, I'll bet," the Captain grumbled sarcastically. "Well, fine." He frowned and thought to himself for a moment. "How to explain it all? Well, for starters, a long time ago, before the meaningless war with Wutai, ShinRa used to develop technical gadgets. It's a Mako company now, but in the old days, it was a weapons manufacturer. Well." Here, he uncrossed his arms with a shrug. "They came up with a rocket engine.

"There was so much experiment about the thought of going into outer space," Cid told them. "Our dreams got bigger and bigger. They put a major budget into it and made prototype after prototype! Finally, they completed Shinra Number Twenty Six. And then, they chose the best pilot in ShinRa – no, the world! – to fly it." Here, Cid smiled arrogantly. "Me."

Cid began tapping his foot lightly as pride lighted in his eyes. "I mean, come on!" But then, he suddenly turned still, and his face hardened. And everyone with him could tell that he was _hardly_ a ShinRa advocator. "And finally we get to the day of the launch. Everything was goin' well. But then, because of that _dumb-ass_ Shera, the launch got messed up. That's why they became so anal!" He was scowling furiously. "And so, ShinRa mixed their outer space exploration plans! After they told me how the future was space exploration and got my damn hopes up! Damn them!" He was practically shaking in his anger. "And then it was _all_ over once they found out Mako energy was profitable. They didn't even so much as _look_ at space exploration anymore. It was all about the money! My dream was just a financial number to them!"

He turned angrily and pointed at the tilted rocket. "Look at that piece of rust! I was supposed to be the first man in space with this! Every day, it tilts a little bit more. At this rate, I don't know which will come first. This thing falling down, or me getting outta here. My last hope is to talk to the president."

Cloud pretended to sound surprised. "Is Rufus coming?"

"Yeah," Cid relaxed, and even managed to look hopeful. "It must be news about restarting the space program. A young president," he nodded in approval with a smile. "That's what we needed. He still has dreams, too."

_Yeah right,_ Cloud thought sullenly. _Maybe dreams of world domination and Mako filled Promised Lands..._ Out loud, he asked rather bluntly and rather boldly: "Can we borrow the Tiny Bronco?"

Cid glared at him sharply and angrily. "Are you outta your _fucking_ mind? That's my most cherished possession! I can't let you take it!"

Aeris pouted. "Oh... But we'll be careful with it!" Cid turned towards her, his mouth open and ready for a sharp retort, but then he hesitated. The Cetra inside the girl was already having an effect on him, and his mouth shut as quickly as it had opened. He didn't have it in him to attempt hurting _her_ feelings.

He sighed, incredibly reluctant. "Look, I ain't promising nothing." He glared accusingly at Cloud, as if this was somehow the mercenary's fault. "Head back to my place. And we'll _talk_ about it."

"Oh," Aeris grinned, and Cid looked back at her dejectedly. But then, her cheerful manner was contagious. "We really appreciate it, Captain." She swiftly turned towards her friends. "Come on! Let's go!" Without pause, she hurried back towards the house that stood built before the Tiny Bronco. Yuffie scurried after her, and one by one, the rest followed. Cid stood by himself for a moment, wondering what had come over him. But then he shrugged it off. If things went according to plan, then he would be well on his way to space again really soon and the Tiny Bronco would be the _last_ craft on his mind.

OOOOOOO

"He actually said that he'd talk about it?" Shera asked in amazement as she hospitably led Cloud and his friends into the dining room of Cid Highwind's home.

"I know," Cloud said with a shrug as the group made to sit down wherever there happened to be an available seat. And as for Red Thirteen and Cait Sithe... well, Cait Sithe already had a perch, and Red was perfectly satisfied sitting back on his haunches. Cloud continued: "It surprised us, too."

"I'm glad he agreed," Aeris stated. "He seems like such a nice man." It would really be a shame if they had to steal anything from him.

Barret scoffed at that remark. "To you, _everyone's_ a nice man!" He shook his head in disbelief. "Have ya ever heard a guy _swear_ like that?"

Yuffie crossed her arms and stared at the leader of Avalanche in slight contempt. "No Barret. Never in my life." Barret started and looked back at her in surprise, but then his face darkened slightly in embarrassment.

"Um..." Shera hesitated, and then looked at Cloud somewhat timidly. "Excuse me... but... Did the Captain say anything about me?"

Cloud glanced at her, and remembered how Cid called her a dumb-ass. He frowned, knowing better than sharing _that_ piece of information with a woman. "Nope."

Her eyes seemed to brighten somewhat at that encouraging bit of news. But then the door swung open and Cid walked in. Immediately he took sight of the scene in the dining room, and whatever good mood he was in a moment before quickly evaporated.

"Damn it," he turned his glare angrily on Shera. "What, are you blind? We got _guests! Get some tea!_ Damn!"

"I..." Shera immediately jumped to her feet, clearly flustered. "I'm sorry." She rushed towards the kitchen. Everyone in the room watched her go in complete shock as Cid grumpily walked over to a mantle on the other side of the room and pulled down what looked like quite the hefty spear. Fortunately, he just seemed to want to hold it for some kind of security, and wasn't in any way violent with it.

Cloud, nevertheless, slowly stood up. "Really, sir. Don't mind us." The last thing he wanted was for someone like Shera to get in trouble because of them.

Cid whirled around, glaring at the mercenary, furious, but more than likely simply because he was under a lot of stress. "Shut up! Sit your ass down in that chair and drink your goddamn _tea_!" He turned from Cloud, groaning his frustration as he headed towards his backdoor. "Damn, I'm pissed. Shera!" He looked towards the kitchen and shouted for her as if she were nothing more to him than a servant. "I'll be in the backyard tuning up Tiny Bronco! An' make sure to serve them some tea! Alright?" He didn't even wait for her to answer, but just stormed out of the house and towards his airplane.

For a moment, no one spoke. Cid had caught them all _completely_ off guard, and all they could do was glance around at each other wondering if everyone else in the room was as shocked by the man's behavior as they were.

"Damn," Barret was the first to speak. "Damn man. Wassup wit' that guy's attitude?"

"He has no right to speak to her like that," Tifa stated, standing up as Shera walked back into the room, holding a tea kettle one hand and a large stack of cups in the other. They might not have been teacups or anything, but no one was complaining.

Cloud glanced sympathetically at the woman. "Sorry. It's our fault." Shera looked up at him in surprise as she started sorting through the cups at the table and began pouring tea into them. She shrugged it off.

"It's okay," she told him with a timid smile. "He's always like this."

Vincent frowned. "It's amazing that you can live with it." He knew _he_ certainly would never talk to a woman the way Cid had to Shera. It was just too dishonorable to even _think_ about.

"No," Shera shook her head.

"What do ya mean, 'no'?" Yuffie demanded, her voice unusually hostile. Listening to the way Cid talked... It struck her a little close to home. "People deserve to be treated better than that!"

Cait Sithe frowned, looking from Cloud to Tifa to Vincent and then to Yuffie. He didn't get it. Shera was trying to tell them that there wasn't anything wrong here... So what were they making a big deal about? People could be so bizarre sometimes... Especially _this_ group.

"It's okay," Shera stated firmly. "It's because of my stupid mistake!" Her face flushed slightly in shame, and she looked down at the tea she was pouring. "I... I was the one who destroyed his dream."

For awhile, no one spoke. They had to wait a moment for that piece of news to sink in. Then Cloud asked tentatively: "What happened?"

Shera looked up at him, suddenly appearing completely miserable. But then... there was something in her that actually _wanted_ to share her thoughts with strangers. Sometimes... it helped lighten the burden. She sighed, thinking back.

_"It was the day the rocket was supposed to lift off. The day that Cid's dream was to finally come true. He had been working for it for so long... Putting his heart into it. More then his heart. His soul. Everything he had. I was a mechanic working for him. I wanted everything to go perfectly, because I knew how much it meant for him. I didn't want _anything_ to go wrong._

_"But the oxygen tanks weren't testing satisfactorily. And that worried me. If he got up there without working oxygen tanks... It wouldn't be pretty. So I kept trying to fix them up, and get them running properly. But it was taking too long, and everyone else was getting impatient. So I hurried to do the last minute touch ups and told them it was all clear._

_"Cid was ecstatic. He could hardly wait. Before long, launch was ready. They were about to prepare countdown when I double checked my test results. And like before, the oxygen tanks were acting up again. I had to fix them before the launch, but it was too late to stop the countdown. It was too late for anymore postponing. But... Cid's success was more important to me than anything else. I ran into the engine room to fix the tanks._

_"Needless to say, Cid found out. Nothing gets past him, let me tell ya. He was so mad. He had been terrified that something might go wrong that would shatter his dream, and that could very well have been it. The intercom turned on. I still remember the conversation we had._

_" 'Hey, goddamn it!' Cid shouted over the intercom. 'Who the fuck's still in there?'_

_" 'It's Shera, Captain!' I replied. 'Don't mind me. Go ahead with the launch.'_

_" 'Shera?' He had sounded so surprised. 'What are you still doing in there?'_

_" 'I was concerned!' I told him. 'The results of the oxygen tank weren't satisfactory!'_

_" 'You stupid little fuck!' Cid shouted into his intercom. 'It's gonna get so hot in there that there ain't gonna be shit left when we blast off! You're gonna be burnt to a crisp! You're gonna die! You know that, don' cha?'_

_" 'I don't mind!' I told him. 'If I can just fix this, the launch will be a success! I'm almost done!'_

_" 'Almost done?' Cid demanded. 'You're gonna die!'_

_"It was imperative that they started the countdown. If they didn't start the engine, they wouldn't make it. But Cid wouldn't do it with me still in there._

_" 'Goddamn it!' Cid shouted at me. 'Shera! You wanna make me a murderer?'_

_"I told him I was almost done. But in the end, I wasn't fast enough. He had to abort the launch, and in the process, there was a small explosion on the launch pad which caused the rocket to tilt the way it does. Even though it happened so long ago, no one's ever gotten around to fixing it since."_

Shera sighed again. "He aborted his mission to save my life. After that, the space program was cut back and the launch was canceled entirely. It's my fault his dream was destroyed. And that's why..." She was still staring down at the tea she was pouring and had yet to serve. Tears were forming in her eyes. "That's why it's all right. I don't care what the Captain says. I'll live my life for him!"

"I'm sorry," Aeris told her softly. The story was incredible. No one in the room could hide their sympathy. They had all felt it when entering Rocket Town. The sense that hopes had fallen and dreams had died. It was because they actually _had_.

At that moment, Cid returned, as if to check up on them, and when he did so, he immediately noticed that his so called 'guests' had yet to be given their drinks. His face turned red. "Shera! You still haven't served 'em tea!"

Shera immediately tensed. "I'm sorry!" She started pouring once more.

Cloud stood up again. It didn't matter to him whether or not Shera minded the way Cid treated her. Some things couldn't be ignored!

But before Cloud could say anything, the captain rounded on _him_! "Sit your ass back down! Or ain't my hospitality good enough for ya?" Cloud hesitated, but that was too much for Tifa.

She jumped to her feet and started angrily towards Cid. "Hey. What right do you think you have-"

Before she could finish with her own little tirade, there was a loud knock on the front door. Everyone started in surprise, and then turned to see another man walking uninvited into the room from out front. They all immediately recognized him as a man who worked for ShinRa. Cloud, Tifa, Aeris, Barret, and Red Thirteen especially recognized him as the man they had encountered at ShinRa Headquarters so long ago. The only other man to have survived Sephiroth's massacre. A man by the name of Palmer.

"Hey, hey!" he said by way of greeting when he saw the Captain. "Long time, no see, Cid! How ya been?"

Cid was glaring at Palmer with crossed arms and a smirk as he shook his head. "Well. If it ain't Palmer. How long were you figuring on keeping me waiting? I wanna know when the space program's gonna start up again."

Palmer suddenly hesitated, his warm, friendly countenance suddenly melting into dejection. "Hey. I don't know the details. The president's outside. Why don't you ask him?"

Cid frowned and glowered in disapproval. "Damn. Good for nothing fuck." He stormed past Palmer and walked towards the front door.

Palmer turned to watch him go with a pout. "Don't blame me, Cid." He turned back towards the rest of the group unhappily. But then he noticed what was being served, and he visibly brightened. "Hey Shera! Tea! Can I have some too? With lots of sugar and honey and... Oh yeah. Don't forget the lard!"

Shera smiled softly. "Sure thing, Palmer."

Cloud made a face before walking past the ShinRa employee. The man obviously hadn't noticed the mercenary yet... either that or he simply didn't recognize Cloud and his friends. More than likely, he just wasn't paying attention. Cloud had no intention of making the same mistake. And neither did his companions. They all stood up and followed the mercenary over to several different windows that faced the town's main road, where they then peered outside to see what was going on.

There were several ShinRa officers in the street, all armed and alert, hopefully ready for anything. As for Rufus himself, he was there, apparently in deep conversation with Cid. Neither looked particularly thrilled to be having such a conversation.

"I wonder what they're talking about," Yuffie stated softly as they watched the growing emotions in both men. Rufus was looking more and more irritated. Cid was just looking more and more furious.

"Excuse me," Shera was suddenly behind them, and she sounded slightly nervous. Cloud glanced at her, more out of the desire to be polite than because he was interested in anything she had to say at that moment. But that was quick to change. "You said you wanted to use the Tiny Bronco right?"

"Yeah," Cloud acknowledged.

"Well," Shera hesitated, but only for a moment. "Palmer just went out back. I think he's gonna try stealing it."

"What?" Cloud spun around to face her completely. The others followed his example, and they all stared at her in concern. She was nodding.

"Please," she told them. "The plane's the one thing Cid has left. Don't allow someone like _Palmer_ to take it from him."

Cloud glanced towards his friends, and the expressions that were returned to him on their faces clearly stated that his sudden decision a unanimous one. They would take the Tiny Bronco for themselves!

OOOOOOO

"What exactly are you saying?" Cid demanded outside, trying his very hardest to keep calm with the young president. For there were several soldiers around him, and they were all armed. And despite the spear Cid still held in his hand, much like a staff, he knew very well that he would be no match for the dozen weapons those security guards possessed. He simply _couldn't _lose his temper at that moment. "You got me all excited for _nothing_?"

"It's hardly nothing," Rufus said irritably. "I told you, we're looking for Sephiroth. Do you understand what that means?"

"Do I understand?" Cid asked spitefully. "This is what I understand! Instead of funding a perfectly controllable scientific endeavor such as the space program, ShinRa decides to go the route of supporting some dumb-assed Jenova Project that got entirely out of hand! And now _you're_ left with the clean up!"

"And I _will_ clean it up," Rufus shot back. "Before I take on anything else! So I _will_ be taking the Tiny Bronco."

_Yeah right,_ Cid thought furiously. _Over my dead ass, maybe._ "Not gonna happen." He might have been willing to allow a nice girl like Aeris to borrow his plane, but Rufus was certainly not having the same effect on him that she had.

"It will happen," Rufus informed the captain coldly. "And if I were you, considering who controls the space program in the first place, I would definitely try showing more courtesy."

"Damn," Cid shook his head in fury. His face was blood red and his eyes were starting to sting. "First the airship! Then the rocket! And now the Tiny Bronco! ShinRa took outer space from me, and now you wanna take the sky away from me too?" The sky was the only thing he lived for anymore. It was the only place he could go where he felt even _remotely_ at peace with his failing life. If he lost that... he'd probably lose whatever peace of mind he had left. And he didn't know if he could live with that...

Rufus was grinning cruelly. "Oh my, Captain. You seem to forget that it was because of ShinRa that you were able to fly in the first place."

"What?" Cid looked dejectedly at the president, and realized Rufus knew all too well that he held the one thing that the captain held dear in the palm of his hand. Rufus knew exactly how to threaten Cid in order to get _exactly_ what he wanted from the man. And Cid had never in his life, until that moment, known what it was to feel so helpless. For as long as he could remember, the sky had given him more freedom than any other man in the world could boast having. And now that freedom was being pulled away from him.

Suddenly, they all could hear the sound of a plane roaring to life. Surprised, Cid, Rufus, and the dozen guards all turned towards the pilot's house, as the sound of the roaring plane came from behind it. Rufus glared at Cid.

"What's the meaning of this?" the president demanded.

"Believe me, sir," Cid growled back. "If I was gonna have my plane fucking stolen to keep it away from you, I would've stolen it myself." With that said, he ran into his home, through it, and out the back without a word to see who would have the _nerve_ to steal _his_ plane. What he saw caught him completely by surprise.

Palmer was lying on the ground in a half daze. Shera was kneeling beside him in concern, quietly seeing to whatever needs he might have after getting swatted aside like some kind of bug. As for his plane...

Red Thirteen and Cait Sithe were in two of the three seats. Barret and the three girls were all tied down to the wings and hanging on tightly. Cloud and Vincent were both crammed into the driver's seat trying to figure out how to get the plane off the ground. For despite whatever memories Cloud had of being in planes, he was quickly realizing that they wouldn't help him with the certain 'modifications' Cid had made to the Tiny Bronco for the very purpose of _discouraging _such larceny. For the next few seconds – though they each seemed to last several hours – Cid could only stare at the strange group on his plane in utter shock. What the hell was going on?

Suddenly Rufus was on the scene behind him with his guards. Cid glanced at the president and saw that the man's face had turned completely red. "Avalanche!'

"Excuse me?" Cid asked, as the title meant absolutely nothing to him.

"In a word," Rufus growled furiously. "Terrorists!" He turned to the pilot in poorly disguised desperation. "Your planes are supposed to be impossible to steal! Tell me they're not getting off the ground!"

Well, Cid thought as he processed all this information at an impossible speed. They certainly weren't having any luck moving the plane. They had started its engine, but that was as far as they would go. And yet... the thought of terrorists had a strange appeal to the pilot at that moment, so long as it was ShinRa they were terrorizing.

"They'll make it off," Cid told the president before he suddenly bolted straight towards the plane. He heard shouts behind him, but as no weapons were being fired, he realized Rufus had misunderstood him. The president would not have his men fire their weapons and possibly damage the plane when it would appear Cid was going to attempt stopping the terrorists himself. Stupid kid.

Vincent saw Cid coming first and managed to draw a gun from his belt and fluidly hold it up, aiming it right at the pilot with graceful ease.

"Point that thing up someone else's ass!" Cid shouted as he expertly climbed up onto _his_ plane. "You think you can just steal the Tiny Bronco _without_ me?" Vincent and Cloud both frowned and glanced at each other in confusion. But it did not take them long to figure out that Cid Highwind had just recruited himself to the team. They quickly scrambled away from the pilot's seat and allowed the captain space to start getting his plane up into the air.

It did not take the ShinRa much longer to realize that Cid had double-crossed them. Furious, Rufus ordered them to be shot down. And so, his guards started firing their weapons.

"Hang on!" Cid shouted. Cloud and Vincent both grabbed whatever holding they could find. Barret and the girls were tied down, but they still held on as tightly as they could. Yuffie clenched her eyes shut in absolute dread. And all the while, Cait Sithe wondered if he was going to spend the rest of his life as a fugitive with the terrible record of grand larceny. It didn't seem to bother the others, though, and least of all Cid.

He had the plane in the air in a matter of seconds. Whatever his temper might be, and whatever his attitude, he nevertheless quickly proved himself to be quite a proficient pilot. Much more talented than Cloud would ever be, at least.

But despite this, the ShinRa kept firing their weapons at the plane. And no matter how good a pilot Cid was, he found it quite impossible to maneuver his plane away from all the bullets that were being fired at him.

Several suddenly tore into the Tiny Bronco's tail. Cid cursed as he fought to keep control of the plane. It took every ounce of training he had in order to accomplish this. All the while, he shouted warnings to his new companions. Warnings that they had in fact been hit, and that they were in fact going to have to crash land.


	31. Honor for Wutai

**Chapter Thirty: Honor for Wutai**

_Oh my God,_ Yuffie had never been more terrified in her life. The plane was in the air, and though she lay firmly tied to its wing, she felt like there was nothing between her and the ground that was who knew how far beneath her. The wind in her face stung, and she felt colder than ice. Her muscles were like sticks and her head was pounding painfully. Motion sick to a fault to begin with, the teenager now felt ten times worse than she had on the boat from Junon. And Cid said they were going to crash!

_Please, please,_ she silently begged, though she was not capable of hoping for anything at that moment. Her despair was by far too powerful. _Don't let me die! There's too much I have to do!_ She couldn't help but think of her home... Wutai... She should be there with her father right now instead of traveling the world looking for Materia! What was the _matter_ with her?

By that point, they had left both Rocket Town and ShinRa far behind. The plane was certainly not the fastest in the world, and the damage it had taken from ShinRa artillery decreased its speed even further. But even still, with Cid piloting, it somehow remained in the air with its broken tail for some time. They crossed a great distance very quickly, loosing altitude all the while. Before long, the ocean grew visible ahead of them.

"We should make it to the water!" Cid shouted as he struggled to keep the plane aloft. "So just hold on tight!"

Cloud was. He had never held on tighter to anything in his life. He glanced towards Tifa and saw that her face was set and determined. Set with the knowledge that they would be going down roughly very soon, and determined to survive it. He was glad for that.

"Cloud!" Vincent shouted over the trumpeting wind. The mercenary glanced over at him quickly. The Turk, like Tifa, was apparently a survivor himself. "If this plane goes down in the water, we have to be ready to get them untied!" Cloud nodded.

The plane suddenly dipped, losing altitude at a much quicker rate. As Cid fought to pull it back up, Yuffie fought to hold in her stomach, which suddenly felt both empty and terrifyingly cold. The plane turned, and both Cloud and Vincent tightened their grips for fear of not being strapped down should it do a complete somersault. Fortunately, Cid kept it more or less even.

The ocean came to life beneath them. Yuffie kept her eyes clenched shut, but the others could make out its waves and the shiny reflection of the sun on the water no more than twenty feet below them. The roar of the wind blocked out the roar of the ocean, but Yuffie could still sense it, and she was not comforted.

The plane quickly lost the ability to stay in the air. It dropped down the final few feet until it collided with the surface of the water. Jolting inertia brought them to a speedy halt, and Yuffie felt like she had just crashed into a brick wall. Whip lash left her body in brutal pain, and she felt like she could not move an inch. Her head was spinning. She wondered for a moment if she had blackened out at all. Time had stopped, and her heart refused to beat.

Suddenly violent waves crashed against her, and were she not tied securely to the wing, she was certain she would have been dragged into a hellish vortex of freezing cold and unending terror. As it was, every bone in her body felt broken as disgusting water filled with saturated salt and pollutants invaded her mouth and packed into her lungs. She thought she would choke on it, or waste away in its sickening acidity.

It felt like an eternity had passed. Yuffie couldn't tell if the salt she was soaked in came from the water or from her tears. _I'm sorry! I'm so, so, sorry! I'll return home! I'll come back to you if only I make it out of this!_

"Yuffie!" Vincent was suddenly at her side. The plane was still swept up in the torrent that it itself had caused, streaming forward while the water attempted to shove it back. Yuffie was surprised she could hear the Turk over all the noise.

"Where're the others?" Yuffie shouted as Vincent used a knife to cut her free.

"They're fine!" he assured her. "Cloud's getting Aeris! Are you hurt?" Yuffie couldn't answer. She had no idea whether or not she was seriously wounded, despite the fact that her body felt like fragmenting.

Suddenly, she was free. The powerful, titanic force of a whirlpool of waves caught her completely off guard, and if Vincent hadn't been prepared to grab hold of her, she would have been dragged under. She found herself screaming.

"Try not to panic!" Vincent shouted his encouragement. But it was too late for that. Yuffie felt like her heart was trying to push its way up through her throat and out her mouth. So Vincent held her close and pushed away from the wing. He would help her get to shore.

Meanwhile, Cloud found himself in a similar predicament. When he had reached Aeris, she had been completely knocked out.

Fearing the worse, Cloud reached her and wasted no time in cutting her free. He held her as if she were a child, close to his chest as he fought to keep both her and himself above water. He could already see bruises taking shape on her skin. There were several scratches on her face, but when he felt a faint pulse, he was at that moment too relieved to care. The thought of losing Aeris frightened him more than Sephiroth himself did.

As the mercenary, with the Cetra in his arms, broke away from the plane, it took every ounce of strength he had to make it to calmer waters. But eventually he succeeded, and he hastened to locate the rest of his companions.

Cait Sithe was the first one he caught sight of, the little cat sitting calmly atop a moogle that actually floated like a buoy! Hanging onto that moogle, half in the water and half out, was Tifa. And she, like the small black and white cat, didn't look too worse for wear.

Cid and Red Thirteen were a few yards away, and both of them looked fine. Barret was swimming towards them as well. It looked like a bit of a struggle for him, though, since the machine gun on his arm made him less than suited for water.

As the group drew together, they treaded anxiously in wait of their two missing companions. Fortunately, it didn't take long for Vincent to appear, holding Yuffie in his arms as Cloud held Aeris.

"Is everyone okay?" Tifa demanded. The incredible tempest that the crashing plane had made in the ocean had subsided by then, and at last the water was calming and the wind dying down. The terrible pandemonium had eased, the trumpets were at rest, and tranquility was returning to their world. The eternity had ended.

"Some of us better 'an others!" Barret shouted back, glaring enviously at Cait Sithe.

"I think Yuffie's terrified," Vincent informed them, looking down at the girl in his arms. She was clinging to him, seemingly unaware of anything else around her. She looked like she was on the verge of complete unconsciousness, as Aeris already was.

"Come on!" Cloud suggested, pushing off towards land and carrying Aeris with him. It was slightly difficult swimming with the girl in his arms, but Cloud nevertheless held her close and made sure her head was safely above the water. As he went, he stubbornly vowed that he would sooner drown than allow Aeris to, and he would most definitely be the vessel that carried her safely to dry land. He would do this for Aeris... and so much more. He loved her. He was quickly coming to realize how true this was.

Tifa released Cait Sithe's moogle and fell deeper into the water with a splash. She wasted no further time in kicking off and swimming after Cloud. As for the small cat, he needn't bother swim, as water seemed to disgust him and he was perfectly capable of using the apparently water-proof controls on his moogle to manipulate it into ferrying him after the mercenary.

Red Thirteen swam expertly over to Barret and the larger man somehow swallowed his pride and accepted the giant creature's assistance. Holding on to Red, the two of them made after their friends. Cid followed, and then Vincent, holding Yuffie as he went.

Land was either farther away than they had realized or they had started swimming in the wrong direction. Either way, eternity had returned again, and the time that began to pass seemed endless.

At one point, while they swam, the group struck up a short conversation with Cid, their newest companion.

"What are you gonna do now?" Cloud asked, without looking at the captain as he focused on Aeris and the water.

"Dunno," Cid replied, panting slightly as his arms grew tired from the unending trek through the sea. "I'm history with ShinRa, and I've given up on the town." There was nothing left for him there. Even after stealing the Tiny Bronco to keep it from Rufus, he had lost it by the very nature of the ocean. Everything he held dear was gone. He didn't know what he would do. There was nothing for him that had any meaning whatsoever. And though there was some freedom in that thought, there was even more terror in it.

"What about your wife?" Cloud asked. "What about Shera?"

"Don't make me laugh!" Cid barked back angrily, his face turning slightly red. Fortunately, no one seemed to realize the _real_ reason he had turned that shade of color. He certainly didn't want them to, so he obstinately declared: "Just thinking 'bout marrying that woman gives me the chills!"

A few minutes had passed in which he had allowed them to catch their breaths, for swimming and talking took a lot of effort. But then he had pressed: "How 'bout you?"

"We're going after a man named Sephiroth," Cloud replied. And then, because Cid had been such a big help with the plane, and because the mercenary sympathized with the captain, he said: "We'll have to get Rufus of the ShinRa someday, too."

"Great," Cid said, unenthused. But then, because he could think of nothing better to do with the rest of his life, and because he absolutely _despised_ the ShinRa, he said: "Sign me up, numbskulls!"

Barret glowered at Cid, slightly insulted. "Numbskulls?"

"Yeah," Cid had nodded his head. "Anyone stupid enough to go up against ShinRa these days has _gotta_ be a numbskull."

"I think you're giving ShinRa too much credit," Red Thirteen commented. After all, had they not been fighting the ShinRa... forever, it was beginning to seem? And rather successfully, at that? It was Sephiroth they would be going up against as numbskulls, not ShinRa.

"Whether I am or not," Cid replied. "Don' matter. 'Cause I like it." Maybe he could, if by nothing else, find some satisfaction in helping these so-called terrorists. "I'm willing ta be a part of... what was it y'all called yourselves?"

"Avalanche," Barret snapped. "An' _I'm_ the one in charge!"

"Whatever," Cid rolled his eyes. "So... when we make it ta land... where're we gonna be headed? Rufus mentioned he was looking for this guy, Sephiroth, too. Said he wanted ta use the Tiny Bronco ta find 'im. Apparently, they think he's headed ta some Temple or other, and want ta intercept him."

"Temple?" Cloud demanded, finally bringing himself to glance over towards the captain. "What're you talking about?"

"Said it was the Temple of the Ancients," Cid replied, thinking back to the conversation he had had with Rufus shortly before he had begun completely giving in to his maddening fury at the prospect of losing the Tiny Bronco. "Whatever the fuck that means."

"Temple of the Ancients," Red Thirteen nodded. "That definitely sounds like someplace where Sephiroth would go. Do you know where it is?"

"Ain't got a clue," Cid stated.

"Wherever it is," Cloud said somberly. "We need to find it. The Temple's name bothers me." It sounded like a sacred, holy place. A place that might hold some key secrets to the Promised Land. If Sephiroth got there, and uncovered those secrets, it could very well spell out disaster.

Such thoughts weighed heavily on his mind as they continued to swim. The water was growing deeper and colder, and it was growing difficult to continue on. Eventually, they began taking efforts to conserve energy. Vincent and Cid would take turns carrying Yuffie, while Cait Sithe's moogle and Red Thirteen took turns assisting Barret. Only Cloud refused to share his burden with anyone. He would not think of parting with Aeris, who still slept unconscious in his arms. And Tifa seemed perfectly capable of swimming unassisted with an iron determination to get safely to shore.

The sun was setting before long. Its brilliant radiance was blinding, as it set directly before them, but Cid seemed pleased by this. As a pilot, he was a proficient navigator, and he assured them that they were swimming in the right direction. And sure enough, as night fell, they could see a landmass in front of them.

With rejuvenated vigor, they swam enthusiastically towards the beach that they soon could see. The water was getting shallower, and suddenly Vincent could touch ground. They waded the remaining distance, but in their pure relief to have made the journey alive, their energy left them, and exhaustion took its place. Even Cloud had been overwhelmed by both the collision into the ocean and the swim out of it.

By the time they were walking onto the beach, they could no longer move at all, and they could not help but collapse. The sand felt warm, even if it was grimy, rough, and coarse. It stuck to their soaked clothes, skin, and hair, but that didn't bother any of them. All they could think about was how solid the ground felt under them, how firm and powerful and secure. And then they thought about their pain, their aching bodies and fatigued muscles. And not one among them could resist the sleep that quickly overtook them. At last, they thought, they could find peace within the dark, deep, comforting void of unconsciousness.

OOOOOOO

The stars were shining brightly above her as she awoke. She rolled over onto her back and stared up at them, silent and thoughtful. God, they were bright. They sparkled with comforting familiarity. Where had she seen them before? Those constellations...? They reminded her of home. _Was this a dream? Home was much too far away..._

As if in a daze, Yuffie sat up. She thought about the events from earlier that day, as she glanced around at her friends. They were all still sleeping. Cloud... who was so much stronger than she could ever be, no matter how she wished it otherwise. Aeris... who lay in his arms even then, and who had been Yuffie's best friend in the world. Cait Sithe... her other dear friend, who she had such fun with. Cid and Vincent... the two newer recruits, who she didn't know very well yet, but still felt good about. Barret... who had lost his home and his friends through no fault of his own... Tifa... who seemed so resentful of Yuffie because she actually still _had_ a home, not to mention a father, and didn't seem to realize what a blessing that was. And Red Thirteen, who had been exactly like Yuffie, in thinking that his father was a miserable, pathetic creature, but who had since realized what a mistake that belief was.

Would Yuffie ever realize that she, like Red Thirteen, had been wrong? Was Tifa right in thinking the teenager was overlooking a blessing? Would Yuffie ever be given a chance to even find out? She had promised she would, if she could just survive the plane crash. And it certainly appeared that she had. So then... she was left with no choice _but_ to return to Wutai and discover for herself what the truth really was.

She looked back up at the stars. They would lead her home. If this really were a dream, than she should definitely follow such an obvious hint as constellations that she had been taught to use as a navigational tool even as a child. She would return to Wutai, flying across both land and sea through a dream to reunite with her father. To return to Wutai... her home.

She stood up and slowly walked towards Cloud. Her body still felt weak. The plane crash had taken a serious toll on her, she could tell, but this was a dream, so she knew she would make it to Wutai. But... not without honor. She could not return home without honor for it. That was why she had joined this quest in the first place. To fight Sephiroth and restore Wutai's honor. For that to happen, this was necessary.

She delicately pulled free the Materia in Cloud's possession. Then she walked over to Barret, and took his as well. And then to Tifa. She took the one orb that the older girl possessed. A small gray sphere that could not possibly be very strong at all. And then she was quite certain she had all the Materia that they had had with them, and she tied them tightly to the belt she wore around her slight waist.

With that accomplished, she turned from the beach and followed the stars inland. She did not know how long she walked, or how far. It seemed like miles passed by after endless hours of eternity. But they did not bother her. They passed on, and she hardly noticed.

But in the end, she could not fight the fatigue that quickly rushed back into her body. In the distance, up ahead, she thought she could see an incredibly heartbreaking display of lanterns from a village. Old fashioned, feudal lanterns that still used actual flames instead of electricity. They were lights she remembered from her childhood. Her father once told her they kept the village safe from their ShinRa enemies, and would lead her home as assuredly as the stars in the sky would. Like they did now...

But as Yuffie walked towards them, they seemed to blur together. Everything around her, in fact, seemed to be a great obscurity. The dreamlike quality intensified, until Yuffie could no longer bear it. She collapsed onto the ground yet again, and entered a strange world where she was half asleep and half awake.

In that world, time continued to pass by. And with that time came two men who saw her. They made for her, and Yuffie was too exhausted to resist them as they inspected her and lifted her from the ground. They began to carry her away, with surprising care and gentleness.

One man glanced at the other. "What trouble do you imagine she has gotten herself into?"

"I am not sure," the other replied. "But know this. Godo will most assuredly not be pleased."


	32. Father and Daughter

**Chapter Thirty-One: Father and Daughter**

Morning had long since passed by the time Cloud finally awoke. The sun was bearing down warmly on his body – which still ached from its excruciating ordeal the day before. That was, if he was correct in assuming that only a single day had passed since they had all landed on that beach. For as far as he knew, a week could have gone by!

"So. You're awake."

Cloud started at the sound of Aeris's pleasant voice. He glanced down at her and saw that he still held her in his arms, and she lay there in content, gazing at him fondly.

"Aeris..." he gently released and moved back from her. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," she assured him as she sat up as well. Her face was scratched and bruised, though Cloud had no doubt that his didn't look any different. But nevertheless, Aeris was smiling, her face was radiant, and her eyes cheerful. "I felt safe, Cloud. I know you would never let anything happen to me. So it was comforting being held by you. Even if you were asleep."

Cloud felt his face flush slightly. Embarrassed, he turned away from her and was about to apologize. But then he noticed how something seemed wrong. Cloud frowned, and looked over the rest of his companions, doing a quick headcount. He and Aeris were both fine. The others were still asleep on the sand not far from them. Tifa, Barret, Red Thirteen, Cait Sithe, Vincent, Cid, but where was... Yuffie...?

"Aeris?" Cloud turned towards her in alarm. "Where's Yuffie?"

Aeris stood up in concern. "Is she not here?" Cloud followed her example, but as he moved, he noticed how much lighter his belt was. Glancing down, he realized all his Materia had been taken!

"She's gone, and our Materia's gone," he informed the Cetra. Aeris's concerned look increased.

"I can't imagine Yuffie would ever take our Materia," she objected to the mercenary's silent accusation. Even as she did so, she reached for her own Materia, which she had cleverly woven into her braided hair, where it was kept both safe and hidden from view. She breathed a sigh of relief as her fingers touched it. "Mine's still here."

"Yours?" Cloud glanced at her with a frown, but then he remembered back to their conversation at the church in Midgar so long ago. "You mean your mother's? The useless Materia?"

"That's right," Aeris nodded. "But then, I don't think Yuffie knew about it, if she was the one who took yours." The Cetra was pouting. "But it couldn't have been Yuffie! She's been such a good friend! Something else must have happened!"

"Like what?" Cloud asked patiently. "Would someone take our Materia, abduct Yuffie, and then just leave the rest of us alone?"

"I..." Aeris hesitated, and then glanced down unhappily. "I guess it doesn't sound very likely. But... I trust Yuffie. I'd hate to think she betrayed us."

"We need to be practical about this, Aeris," Cloud told her gently, while silently fuming. Aeris was upset by this, he could easily tell. Whoever was responsible wasn't going to get away with it. "If Yuffie, for whatever reason, took our Materia, then we need to find her and get them back before we find ourselves in a situation where we might need them. And if Yuffie didn't take them, then she could be in trouble, and we should find her as soon as possible to help her."

"You're right," Aeris agreed. "We need to find Yuffie first."

OOOOOOO

It did not take them long at all to wake the others and explain what had happened to them. Needless to say, they were all shocked and angered by this unexpected turn of events. Especially Tifa.

While the rest pondered the meaning of it all, she could not help but feel increasingly vulnerable. The gray Materia that Cloud had given her so long ago... It was gone. It had been taken from her. And now... she felt like a part of her was missing. The most important part.

The Materia wasn't very powerful in itself. But... it had been the one thing Tifa possessed that she thought she could not bear to be without. The gray Materia would protect her when Cloud wasn't there. And though Cloud had been there all this time, Tifa had been greatly comforted more than once simply by the gray orb's presence.

_Besides,_ she thought, glancing over at Aeris who stood beside Cloud, closer to him than she was. _He's not really with _me_ right now, is he...?_

"Where do you think she is?" Vincent was asking, his voice calm and his manner composed. _He_ certainly didn't seem to be very affected by the whole situation. Nothing ever seemed to bother him at all. Tifa envied that.

"Well," Cloud shrugged and glanced at Cid. "Are there any towns or cities or anything around here that have any sort of significance?"

"Well," the Captain nodded. "Yeah. Wutai can't be five miles inland from here."

"Wutai!" Cloud, Aeris, Tifa, Barret, and Red Thirteen all stared at Cid in complete astonishment. Vincent frowned, while Cait Sithe cocked his head and the captain cursed softly.

"Wha's the fucking matter?" he demanded.

"Wutai is where Yuffie lives," Tifa informed them softly. "When we first met her, she was looking for Materia, and joined us in order to return honor to her family name, and the name of her home, Wutai."

"It can't be coincidence," Aeris said, her voice turning rather optimistic. "It must be that Yuffie took our Materia to her home. But I bet she didn't mean to betray us. There has to be something more to her story that we should take into account before jumping to conclusions."

"She's right, you know," Red Thirteen agreed. The others conceded, though somewhat reluctantly on Barret and Cid's parts. Nevertheless, the captain agreed to show them the way to Wutai, and without any further hesitation, they started inland towards Yuffie's home.

OOOOOOO

Wutai was once a great city heavily populated, respected, and feared. It was honorable, mighty, and beautiful, and its people lived in prosperity and content. A feudal city, it had an ancient look about it, much unlike Midgar and Junon. Its buildings were tall and powerful, red of color, with black trim every once in awhile. Several of the buildings appeared to have two roofs, one built on top of the other, and made of a reddish brown tile. Those roofs were curved gracefully, and gave the building a sense of power, pride, and elegance.

The tallest building was a single tower, and it seemed to have not just two roofs, but several, all made of that curving tile, one atop the next. It was the pagoda, the most honored and respected tower in all the city.

Other traits decorated Wutai as well. There were several statues. One in particular, the Da-chao, stood not in the city, but close to it, as if it meant to keep watch over those who lived there, and protect them from those who might bring them harm. There were also many gongs, much pottery, and even traces of land that might once have been part of some gardens.

The houses of the city were small, when compared to the pagoda and the home of the Lord of Wutai. That building was like a palace, or it had been at one time. But no matter how large it was, or how small the other buildings were in comparison, the architecture was such that every inch of the city seemed to fit in place. There was an orderliness about it, and it made Wutai seem more civilized than Midgar or Junon could ever hope to be.

But Wutai was not the grand city that it once had been. In this time, it was so sparsely populated that it could no longer even be called a city. For all its size and historical glory, it was now lawfully just a village. With so few to take care of it, to keep it clean and proud, it had slowly grown to look old and tired, like some ancient ruin. And it was only at night, when one could not see the pathetic sight the town conveyed, but could take in the fire in the lanterns that were, amazingly, still lit every night without fail in whatever window there might still be, that the village could be mistaken for the city that it once was. During the day, however, Wutai only had hope of the phantoms that lived in its walls and shadows to remind those who happened to pass through of its incredible former glory.

And it was there, in that city, that Yuffie awoke to. As soon as her eyes had opened, she had shot upright and took in her surroundings. For a moment she refused to believe it... She was home!

She was lying on a bed in the house of Godo, the Lord of Wutai. And though she still wore her traveling clothes, and though she could easily locate her bladed boomerang on its stand in the corner of the room, she nevertheless felt as though she had lost her freedom and her power.

Had it all been a dream? Cloud, Aeris, and the others? Had Sephiroth been real? At the moment, everything that had happened was hard for her to believe. But then she looked down to inspect her own body, and though she still wore her own clothes, her arms, legs, chest, and practically the rest of her body as well, were covered in bandages. Apparently she was recovering from something... A plane crashing into the ocean seemed a likely enough explanation.

But whatever the cause of her injuries, she _certainly_ didn't want to stay in this room any longer. Not that the floor mat she used for a bed was uncomfortable, for she knew it was one of the most expensive and luxurious in Wutai, or that any _other_ part of the room was in some way unsatisfying. It was far from it. It was suitable for a princess. But that was the problem. If Yuffie had to admit that she was some sort of princess, then she also had to admit that her father was some sort of King. And that thought did not sit well with her at all. If Yuffie had been entertaining thoughts about confronting her father... she was quickly changing her mind.

The only problem was... she couldn't locate the Materia! Horrified, Yuffie pushed up out of bed. She had located her boomerang, but the Materia was no where in sight! If Cloud and the others were to show up now, they would be _pissed_!

Frantic, Yuffie rushed over to her boomerang. Her body stung and painfully pulsated in protest. It was all she could do to hold back tears of pain. See if she got into a flying contraption ever again!

Fighting to push back her pain, the teenager grabbed her boomerang and tossed it into place on her back. Then, she made towards a door that would slide into the wall when opened. She had to get out of there and find the Materia. Then she _needed_ to get out of Wutai!

But at that moment, the door slid open on itself, and an elderly servant walked inside. He carried a tray with both a teacup and a kettle on it, as well as a bowl of rice. Upon seeing Yuffie up and preparing to leave, he frowned at her critically. "But you only just arrived."

"What makes you think I was even headed towards Wutai?" Yuffie demanded angrily. "I didn't _ask_ to be brought here!" In fact, now that she thought about it, she hadn't really been completely in her right mind to begin with when she had chosen to return home. But she wasn't _about_ to admit _that_. Instead, she quickly demanded: "Where's my Materia?"

"Lord Godo has it," the servant informed her as he delicately placed the tray on a short table that barely lifted off the floor. "He was most impressed by your collection. However, he isn't too pleased with the way you've been taking care of yourself." Once again, the servant looked up at her critically.

"I stole that Materia from honorable people!" Yuffie informed the man angrily. "For the good of Wutai! In my father's possession, they are useless, and it was all for nothing!"

"We shall see," the servant replied with a shrug. "But in the meantime, you must regain your strength, Yuffie. And then your father would like a few words with you."

"Right," Yuffie glared at the servant in cold fury. What had she been thinking? Being wrong about her father as Red Thirteen had been wrong about his? Some weakness in her had simply wanted that to be the truth, out of some childish desire to rebuild her family. She had been foolish to hope for that. There was a big difference between the father of Nanaki and the father of Yuffie Kisaragi.

OOOOOOO

"This is... incredible!"

Aeris was standing at the front gates of Wutai, gazing into the forlorn city with an expression of awed wonder. She had never seen such a place. It was hard to believe Yuffie could possibly live here! Something about it seemed simply magical, and with all its graceful charm and elegance, the wild, exuberant Yuffie they all knew hardly fit into the city backdrop at all.

Cloud and the others stood around Aeris, and they were all having similar reactions as they, too, took in the city and all its grandeur. Tifa in particular found it difficult to imagine Wutai as the home she had always known Yuffie to have, but had always thought to be smaller and _much_ less majestic. Perhaps, depending on what Yuffie had to have put up with here, it was not so unforgivable that she wanted to get away from it... But then, Tifa would just have to wait and see.

"Come on," Cloud suggested, heading into the city. "Let's see if we can find Yuffie." The others followed them, but unfortunately, no sooner than when they had reached one of the main roads that wove around the city did they happen to see, in addition to those who looked like Wutai citizens and others who looked like tourists, a troop of ShinRa soldiers making their way towards a building that appeared to be an inn. Cloud hesitated, but none of the soldiers seemed to have noticed him or his friends, so the mercenary quietly led them off the road and down a side street where they soon found some cover.

He glanced towards the others: "ShinRa's here." But they had all seen the troop for themselves as he had, and they acknowledged that with concerned expressions.

"Damn," Cid was muttering. "Didn' we just _escape_ from those fuckers?"

"ShinRa's everywhere, man," Barret replied grumpily. "They're like friggin' _rodents_! Need a good extermination, if ya ask me." Cid nodded.

"It makes sense, though," Red Thirteen pitched in. "The war with Wutai was a brutal one. With ShinRa as the victors, they wouldn't just leave Wutai to lick its wounds. They would have it occupied."

"Which means that even though the war is over," Aeris theorized. "The ShinRa are still an ever-present, constant threat to the people here. And Yuffie may have been young when the war was raging, but she had to grow up with the ShinRa controlling her home."

"And she probably had to watch Wutai leaders submit to the ShinRa," Tifa miserably contributed. "Which must be why she thinks Wutai has lost its honor. No wonder. I would have run away from that, too." _How could she have blamed Yuffie for running away?_

"I hope she's not in trouble," Vincent said, crossing his arms. "We don't know what the circumstances surrounding her departure were when she originally left Wutai. She might have angered someone important."

"We better find her quickly," Cloud agreed. He looked at Vincent. "Will you take Cait Sithe, Cid, and Barret and search the city for her? Red Thirteen, Tifa, Aeris and I will check out the palace and see if we can figure out what the deal is with the ShinRa." Vincent nodded. With that taken care of, the group efficiently split up in two, and each made their way in opposite directions.

OOOOOOO

The palace was huge. It only looked to be about two stories tall, and only had two of those curving roofs, but it still took up a pretty decent amount of area. It sat up on a small hill, and a wooden terrace completely wrapped around it. Small, wooden black pillars walled that terrace in at evenly spaced distances. There were several small statues, many large vases, and a few gongs that could be seen as well. But Cloud, Aeris, Tifa, and Red Thirteen ignored them as they stealthily slipped past them and through an unoccupied side entrance that led into the actual palace.

Once inside, they wasted no time in navigating silently through twisting corridors that were dimly lit, not by lanterns, and certainly not be electricity, but by several small candles that offered only a twinkling of light.

Eventually, as they slipped through doors that slid into the walls, they found themselves standing in a corridor that looked the same as the previous corridors, but with one significant difference. The wall on the inner side of the palace was not quite as solid as the other walls in the building were. It was made of many thin pieces of black wood that had been cleverly woven together in a flowingly curving pattern. But because it was hard wood, which was not meant to be woven, it did not fit together perfectly as a woven carpet or basket might. The black wall was incredible to look at, with its own graceful charm, but it easily allowed Cloud and his three friends to peer through and see into the room beyond it.

The room was square, with only the simplest of furnishings. The floor was wooden, and there was also a wooden table that barely lifted off the ground. Kneeling on one side of it, there was a man dressed in expensive silks and satins that were black, red, and yellow in color. The man was dark of hair, and his skin looked tan, but that might have just been from the poor lighting of the room, which, like the others in the palace, had been lit by candles. But unlike the other rooms, there were a multitude of candles in this chamber that lit the room rather well, when compared to the rest. But despite the light they offered, Cloud reasoned that it was still not enough for anyone in that room to notice the mercenary and his friends, should they happen to glance at the wall that separated them.

The man was pensively drinking from a teacup when a door slid open. As Cloud watched, he was shocked to see none other than Yuffie enter the room!

The man glanced up at her, but did not rise or greet her in any way as he took another deep sip of his tea. Yuffie, Cloud noticed, was covered in white bandages, but other than that, and her obvious anger, she looked just fine. She still had her boomerang, but when Cloud glanced down at her belt, he could not see any Materia on her.

Yuffie walked over to the table. It separated her and the man like a wall, and the atmosphere in the room, Cloud noticed, had grown tense. Stiffly, Yuffie sat down on the floor, as if it were against her better judgment.

A moment passed in which not a word was spoken. The man, who, upon reflection, Cloud reasoned, simply _had_ to be the Lord of Wutai, picked up a second teacup and filled it with liquid from a kettle. He delicately placed in front of Yuffie.

"This is my second cup of tea," she told him, staring down at it dejectedly.

"Yuffie," the man's voice sounded deep, and tired with age. "You do not show proper respect."

She looked up at him, her eyes flashing in anger. "I don't see myself prostrating before _you_, Lord Godo!"

"Have I asked that of you?" he demanded, his voice slightly raised in his own frustration. "All I have asked is that you do not dishonor Wutai."

"_I'm_ dishonoring it?" she demanded in fury. "I'm no coward! Wutai has already fallen, and it's because you gave up after a single loss! I had no part in it."

"You don't know of what you speak," Godo replied, gracefully rising to his feet. He towered over her, and would have even if she were standing. As it was, with her still on the floor, she looked like a mouse when compared to him. It was no wonder that Barret often failed to intimidate her.

"I know more than you think," Yuffie told him. "You say you still oppose the ShinRa, but for all your opposition, you might as well just fall into line like the rest of the world! _I'm_ the only one who's truly been fighting them out of _everyone_ in Wutai!"

"_You_ are?" Godo glared down at her haughtily. "You think going around _stealing_ Materia that couldn't possibly belong to you matters to the ShinRa? They have as much as they want, and aren't going to notice the few worthless bits you have collected."

"I didn't steal it from the ShinRa!" Yuffie replied, too angry for her own good. "I stole it from people I have called my friends! And why should I not have? That is what I have learned from you! To betray those who put faith in me!"

"You will watch how you speak to me," Godo warned in a low, threatening voice. Once upon a time, that might have received more of a reaction from Yuffie, but on that day, she brushed it aside.

"I speak to you as you deserve to be spoken to," she informed him. "I won't just obey your every command anymore! I don't care about you. I care about Wutai! And as far as I'm concerned, you don't have the right to dictate my life!"

"Dictate?" Godo glared down at her angrily. "I'm your father, Yuffie! And you are still a child. You run around stealing Materia, falsely seeing yourself as a warrior against the ShinRa, when, were I a real dictator, you would remain in Wutai never to leave my sight! If I have failed at anything, then it is in you. Not only do you dishonor me, but you dishonor Wutai, which you say you care for. You should be ashamed."

Cloud was stunned. He glanced at Tifa, Aeris, and Red Thirteen, and saw that were similarly stunned. Yuffie was the _daughter_ of the Lord of Wutai? None of them would have guessed that in their _wildest_ of dreams!

Yuffie stood up then. In the candlelight, Cloud thought he could see tears shimmering in her furious eyes. "You aren't my father." She turned and fled from the room, and Godo made no move to stop her.

"Oh, Yuffie," Aeris turned and ran back the way the group had originally come. Her sympathy obviously lay with her friend, even if Yuffie _had_ stolen their Materia. The Cetra didn't want to see the teenager cry, and wished to catch up with her and comfort her.

"Cloud," Tifa quickly looked over at the mercenary. "Go after Aeris and Yuffie. I want to talk with Godo."

The mercenary nodded and glanced down at Red Thirteen. "Stay with Tifa." With that said, he turned and bolted after Aeris.

"This way," Red Thirteen suggested, turning towards another corridor that wrapped around the room Godo occupied. Tifa made to follow him, but first she glanced back through the wall into the room she wanted to get inside of. Her heartbeat quickened when she realized the Lord of Wutai was staring suspiciously at that wall that separated them.

OOOOOOO

Yuffie was quickly making her way outside the palace, but as upset as she was, and as sore as she was, she found it difficult to breathe properly. She grabbed one of the statues on the outer terrace, holding it for support as she tried to fight down her tears and catch her breath.

She hated him! She hated how he so easily made her feel smaller, trapped, and vulnerable. She swore it wouldn't always be like that. One day, she'd be stronger, and he wouldn't be able to hurt her like this. She'd be... in control of herself, like Cloud! She'd show him how much stronger she would be, both physically and mentally! She'd prove to him that she _was_ bringing Wutai honor! Yuffie couldn't wait for that day...

But apparently it hadn't come yet. She wiped away her tears, resenting herself for being so weak.

"Yuffie!"

The teenager frantically pushed away from the statue and spun around to see Aeris rushing towards her, with Cloud coming up behind the Cetra. Yuffie felt her heart race in alarm. Though Aeris looked concerned for her friend, Cloud looked irritated, and Yuffie could easily guess why.

"Oh," she whispered under her breath. "Crap." They no doubt wanted their Materia back. And Yuffie feared how they would react when she told them she didn't know where Godo had put it. So instead of waiting for them to reach her, she did exactly what her instinct was telling her to do. She turned away from them, and she ran as quickly as she possibly could.

OOOOOOO

"Ah," Godo was kneeling on the floor, once again, drinking tea. "I thought there might have been someone behind that wall, eavesdropping." He glanced up towards Tifa and Red Thirteen as they had finally found and silently entered the room. By that point, he had regained his composure, and his eyes held only intelligence in them, and no anger or frustration. "I'm sure you are aware it was not made for spies."

"We are not spies," Tifa assured him. "We're friends of Yuffie's."

"Friends?" Godo sounded surprised by that. "I'm surprised you would still call yourselves such. Or were you not whom she stole Materia from?"

"She did," Tifa acknowledged. "In fact, the Materia I had that she took was very important to me. But I'm not quite yet to the point of forsaking my friendship with her."

"Hmm," he took another deliberate sip of his tea, carefully studying her and Red Thirteen. "You look scratched and bruised, as Yuffie is. What, I wonder, were you all doing?"

At this, Tifa couldn't help but smile smugly. "We were fighting ShinRa."

"Truly?" Godo looked surprised, but skeptically at that. Tifa realized he didn't believe her. He even actually smiled in slight amusement. "Imagine."

Tifa frowned. "Since I met Yuffie, I've been hinting that she should return home and be with her family. I don't have one, and the fight we've taken on is no place for a teenager when she has somewhere else that could offer her shelter." At this, Godo gazed at Tifa with an increasingly solemn expression. Tifa continued, speaking softly and calmly. "I want you to know that Yuffie never told us who her father was. She never mentioned you if she could help it. We knew she was unhappy with the way her home was, and that was why she wouldn't return until she could bring it honor. But I never imagined you as being anything other than a worried old man fearing for a daughter he loved. I always thought Yuffie was the selfish one. But then... her life keeps surprising me."

"Well," Godo stared at her thoughtfully, considering her words. "I must say I'm impressed. You aren't quite what I imagined either, when wondering what Yuffie's friends should be like. I pictured someone more flamboyant. I'm surprised she puts up with you."

"I'm just one of many," Tifa told him. "Her other friends aren't all like me." They were pretty much split down the middle, as far as flamboyancy went, Tifa thought. With Yuffie, Aeris, Cait Sithe, Barret, and Cid on one side, and her, Cloud, Red Thirteen, and Vincent on the other.

"What exactly is it that you want of me?" Godo asked.

"Just to tell you," Tifa replied. "That my friends and I will be taking our Materia back. And then we will ask Yuffie to continue with us. And you should be warned that she is a lot stronger than you realize. You judge her too harshly."

"Or," Godo cut in. "You judge her too lightly. You say such things because you are her friend. But before you bathe her with honor, remember that she took from you your Materia. What has she done to prove her honor, to prove that she is worthy of such loyalty?"

"Maybe you would know," Tifa quickly answered. "If you took the time to look."


	33. On The Job

**Chapter Thirty-Two: On The Job**

"So, have you ever been to Wutai before?" Cait Sithe asked Vincent as the former Turk led them on their search through each individual room in the inn where they might find Yuffie hiding. Somehow, Vincent had been able to convince the innkeeper to allow them to do this, without the skill of intimidation – if they had gone that route, the innkeeper might very well have alerted ShinRa guards.

"Once," Vincent replied, using the skeleton key that opened all the rooms to get inside one. Yuffie was not there, so he shut the door and locked it. "But that was a long time ago. Before any war. The conflict must not have arisen before I began my hibernation."

"Hibernation?" Cid asked, frowning. Vincent did not reply, but continued down the hall towards the lobby. There was no sign of Yuffie in any of these rooms.

But as he was about to walk out of the corridor and into that lobby, he unexpectedly stopped short, which caused Barret to whine and Cid to curse. Vincent glared at them with an expression that clearly told them to shut up. They obeyed, and carefully, they all looked out into the lobby to see, sitting at a bar, three figures with several ShinRa soldiers standing around them. Vincent had stopped because of the soldiers, but Barret, upon seeing the three at the bar, let out a soft curse of his own.

"Damn Turks."

For there they were. Reno, Rude, and Elena. He and Cait Sithe recognized them, and Vincent and Cid, upon hearing the title, quickly studied the three so that they would remember them in the future as well.

"Our reports were right!" one soldier was telling the Turks. "He _is_ here on vacation! With your help, we could have him in custody within the hour!"

Reno sighed, leaning against the surface of the bar while holding a bottle in his hand. "What a drag."

The soldier behind him frowned. "What was that?"

Reno sat up and turned around to face the soldier. Both Rude and Elena watched, slightly apprehensive. _They_ didn't have a problem with going after their target and getting this little side mission complete as soon as possible, but _Reno_ certainly did. He glowered at the soldier. "Right now, we're off duty and can't run off to save your butts."

"Um..." The soldier hesitated, and suddenly looked apprehensive himself. "We know you're off duty, but-"

"If you knew," Reno cut in. "Then you wouldn't be bothering us! Lookin' at you is making me sober."

Though the first soldier looked nervous, the one standing to his right glowered in indignation. "Well that's fine! We'll get him without any help from the Turks, just you see!"

"Yeah!" the third soldier agreed. "And don't think that Headquarters isn't gonna hear about this!" With that said, the three men turned and angrily stormed out of the inn. Reno, however, sighed in content and took a great big swig from his bottle, hardly caring about their threats.

"More like it," he grumbled.

Vincent was frowning as he watched the scene in the lobby. _These_ were the Turks of today? What in God's name had happened to the honorable organization he had once been a part of? Looking at Reno, he suddenly felt slightly embarrassed.

But then, maybe he was judging them too soon. For Elena didn't look at all too pleased.

"Reno," she said, crossing her arms. "Do you really think that was such a good idea? I mean, was that the way a professional... the way a _Turk_ would act?"

Vincent felt both Barret and Cait Sithe glance at him. Was that the way _he_ would have acted, he could almost hear them wondering.

"Elena," Reno calmly glanced at the newest member. "Don't misunderstand. A pro isn't someone who would sacrifice himself for his job. That's just a fool."

Elena's face reddened slightly. Was _she_ a fool, then? She glanced at her other partner indignantly. "Rude?"

He looked away from her, feeling shame, but too loyal to his friendship with Reno to disagree with him. Elena took the hint.

"Well, fine!" she said angrily. She stood up and stared at them both with violent disapproval. "Believe what you want. But I don't!" She turned and followed the other ShinRa soldiers out of the inn.

"Elena," Rude looked like he wanted to go after her, but Reno gently, if not clumsily, reached out to grab his friend's arm.

"Relax," he told the other Turk calmly. "She's not a child. Let her have her way now." If Elena believed there was still honor in her line of work, then she would soon enough learn otherwise. Reno didn't want to shelter her from the truth, but, then, neither did he want to force it in front of her while she still had some sense of principle to cling to. She was not a child, but she was still young, and whether he admitted it or not, he liked her youthful energy and dedication. He didn't want her to lose it too soon.

Vincent turned away from the lobby and motioned for Barret, Cid, and Cait Sithe to follow him. Yuffie certainly wasn't here, so there was no reason to stick around any longer. They would just have to find another way to return the skeleton key and another way to leave the inn.

But even as Vincent returned his attention to the task of finding Yuffie, he could not help but wonder about one other thing. Who exactly was it that the ShinRa were looking for? A man vacationing in Wutai? Who was he, and was he even worth getting worried about?

OOOOOOO

_How am I gonna get outta this?_ Yuffie wondered as she scrambled down the streets of Wutai, desperately attempting to escape Cloud and Aeris, both of whom were gaining on her. She wasn't stupid. She knew Cloud was by far faster than she could ever be. Several times since their little chase had begun, he had been just inches behind her, and would have caught her had she not the knowledge she did of Wutai, and knew what turns to suddenly take without warning, or what ledges to climb up and over, or what broken fences were small enough for her to duck under. She had been chased through this city before, and had never once in her life been caught. But then, she thought glumly, as she traced her way down familiar escape routes that just weren't doing the job right this time, she had never been chased by an ex-SOLDIER before in her life.

Finally, she just couldn't take it anymore. Her body was practically burning in aching pain. Exertion like this should not be preformed so soon after crashing down into the ocean in a broken airplane! Her legs failed her, and she landed in a miserable heap on her hands and knees.

Cloud and Aeris came to a stop behind her, and while the mercenary was glaring down at her in complete, utter irritability and impatience, Aeris just seemed overly concerned. She walked over to the teenager and knelt down beside her.

"Yuffie," she said, reaching to take the girl's hands in hers. "What's going on? Why would you run away from us like that?"

Yuffie looked up at the Cetra in surprise. Did they know...? She glanced at Cloud, but the look on his face told her most assuredly that they _did_ know, and that some of them were not at all happy with her. She looked back at Aeris. "But aren't you angry?"

"More confused," Aeris told her. "We don't understand why you did what you did. I thought you wanted to fight Sephiroth for the honor of Wutai."

"I _do_!" Yuffie stressed, looking back at Cloud, who hadn't spoken a word and was staring at her rather predatorily. "But with all that's happened..." she looked back at the Cetra. "I don't think I can face Sephiroth without proving something to myself first."

"What?" Cloud finally spoke. "That you're capable of getting away with theft? And not just any theft, but from your friends when they were vulnerable?"

"Some friend you are if you believe that!" Yuffie snapped, glaring at him with a rejuvenated spirit of anger. "All right then. I'll admit I stole your Materia when you couldn't stop me! But that wasn't what I wanted to prove! I wanted to prove that I could do something for Wutai! Ever since I was little, I've been told wonderful stories of how Wutai used to be! But now it's nothing more than a stupid tourist attraction, occupied by the ShinRa! We got peace after the war, but Wutai lost something! And I thought if I had lots of Materia, I could help get it back!"

"At this point," Cloud interrupted. "I don't care. You've got our Materia, and I want them back. Now."

Yuffie stared at him, setting her jaw tight. She _didn't_ have their Materia. Her father did. She had no idea where or how to get it back from Godo. She needed time to think about this... If she were ever going to prove that she were capable of getting away with theft, then it wouldn't be by stealing from her friends... it would be by stealing from her father! But before she could think on that, she needed to get away from these two. And she thought she knew how. "Okay. It's fine. I'll give you back your Materia. Let me take you to it."

"Good," Cloud nodded as Aeris and Yuffie got to their feet. With that settled, the teenager led them back to Godo's palace. They ignored whoever they might have encountered along the way, and eventually Yuffie brought them into a certain room that had the first sign of modern times in it that they had seen since entering Wutai. A vault.

"Okay," she said, gesturing towards a portion of the room. "Just stand there. Let me open it up for you." Cloud and Aeris complied, and Yuffie walked towards the vault. She quickly turned the dial both right and left a certain number of times when suddenly several metallic poles shot up from the floor and surrounded Cloud and Aeris.

"Hey!" Aeris shouted as Cloud started in surprise. They were trapped in a cage that was too small to allow the mercenary room to even draw his sword!

Yuffie twirled towards them with a small smile. She hated doing this, but she knew perfectly well it would only be a matter of time before they figured out how to get out of that little cage. She needed to get as far away from them as possible as soon as possible so that she could figure out how to get their Materia back. But just so that they didn't suspect it was her father in control, and not her herself, she told them: "I'm sorry, Aeris, but the Materia is mine. And that's just tough."

"Yuffie," Cloud said slowly and dangerously. "Let us out now."

"Can't," Yuffie said with a shrug. "Sorry." Without another word, she skipped out of the room and left the mercenary and the Cetra locked in together.

"Don't be too mad at her," Aeris pleaded, looking up at Cloud, even now managing to smile somewhat. And when Cloud saw that smile, he felt whatever anger he might have had directed at Yuffie evaporate. If Aeris wasn't angry, after all, why should he be? " 'Cause you know," she continued cheerfully. "Yuffie's still just a teenager. She's trying to show off and prove herself."

"I just wish," Cloud replied softly. "That she didn't feel the need to prove herself to _us_."

OOOOOOO

It didn't take long at all for Tifa and Red Thirteen to find Cloud and Aeris trapped inside their little prison. In fact, Cloud thought, as the two entered the room together, they almost looked like they were _expecting_ something like this. For without a word, Tifa walked over to the vault and began turning the small dial.

Red Thirteen glanced up at Cloud and Aeris. "We saw Yuffie leaving the palace as we were. When we caught up with her, she told us you guys might need some help. She's slippery, though. As soon as we got the combination from her, she got away."

The metallic poles suddenly slid back down into the floor, and Cloud and Aeris were free. However, Tifa noticed as she turned back towards them, they were rather slow in moving away from each other after having been so close while in their little cage.

For some reason, this upset her. "Come on." She headed towards the exit. "We need to find Yuffie and get our Materia back."

OOOOOOO

Presently, the young teenager in question was hiding out inside a large empty bin in a pile of bins stacked in an abandoned part of the city. These bins used to all be full of supplies for the city, and cared for at that, but now, with over half the city no longer populated, much had fallen into neglect. It was the perfect place for a girl to hide and consider her options.

Unfortunately for her, she hadn't been the only one with such an idea.

For without warning, the lid on the bin she hid inside of was violently pulled off. Yuffie looked up in surprise in time to see several hands reach in and cruelly grab her by her arms. She was forcibly pulled out onto the street.

"Hey!" she protested angrily, half expecting to have been caught by Cloud once again. But then, she quickly realized the people who had found her were not even _remotely_ a part of Avalanche. No. She identified three men, none of whom she recognized.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, struggling to break away from them. One man was holding her right arm while another held her left, and the third was watching her critically, as if he was inspecting her or something.

"Let go!" she shouted, trying to break free. The man who watched her frowned unhappily, and stepped closer to her in order to viciously backslap her across her face. The other two released her in time for the force of the attack to send her flying to her hands and knees.

She groaned slightly as her face stung, wondering all the while what the hell was going on. "Jerk..." she grumbled.

From behind, someone grabbed her arms and pulled them back. Suddenly deprived of their support, Yuffie fell forward, and ended up lying painfully on the ground as her wrists were tightly bound behind her.

Getting angry now, she forcibly rolled over, causing the one man who had been leaning over her to stumble backwards. She swore loudly at him as she savagely kicked her legs out to ward them off. But she was by far no Tifa. The two other men rushed towards her and grabbed her ankles. More rope was provided as they bound them together.

"Stop it!" Yuffie shouted at them. She tried to jerk her legs away from them, but it wasn't any use. They were stronger than she was. And with her hands tied, she couldn't draw her boomerang. She quickly realized she had been rendered helpless.

"She's feisty," one man grumbled in annoyance as Yuffie thrashed around as best as she could.

"You just wait," Yuffie spat furiously at him. "You can't do this to me! When I get loose, you're gonna pay!"

"Yeah," the second said, ignoring her. "But _he_ rather likes feisty girls. I saw her climbing into the bin, and thought he'd like her."

"Shut up!" Yuffie shouted. "You can't talk about me like that!" And then, because she wasn't above asking for help, she began screaming for it. Unfortunately for her, she had chosen to hide in a neglected part of the city, and she doubted very much that anyone could hear her.

To make matters worse, she was starting to annoy her captors. One glared at the other two. "Someone shut her up." Another nodded, and quickly produced a piece of cloth.

"Don't you even dare!" Yuffie shouted at him as he leaned over her. She screamed as loudly as she could for as long as she could, but it was violently cut short as he forced the cloth into her mouth. He then produced another one and tied it around her face to prevent her from spitting the cloth out.

"All right," one man said as the three of them stood back to admire their catch. "Let's get her back."

Feeling more helpless than she ever had in her father's palace, Yuffie tried to draw away from them. But she had no luck. One of her captors leaned over her and grabbed her waist, lifting her up as if she weighed no more than a doll. She struggled and fought as best she could, but needn't have bothered. They carried her farther away from the populated part of Wutai, and deeper into its abandoned ruins.

OOOOOOO

Cloud, Tifa, Aeris, and Red Thirteen met up with Vincent, Barret, Cid, and Cait Sithe in a side alley near the main street of Wutai. The first thing that each group noticed was that Yuffie was not with the other one.

"No luck, huh?" Barret asked as they drew together.

"Actually, we did speak with Yuffie," Aeris informed them. "Her father is Godo, Lord of Wutai."

"Who would have thought?" Red Thirteen added. A moment later, he added: "But she got away from us. We don't know where she is anymore."

"The Turks are here, though," Cait Sithe told them. "Reno, Rude, and Elena."

"It may be that ShinRa is here looking for another fugitive," Vincent informed the mercenary. "Though I doubt that fugitive is Sephiroth."

Cloud frowned. "But who else would it be?"

"What would Sephiroth be doing in Wutai?" Vincent shot back. "He isn't plagued with a teenage girl trying to steal his Materia."

"We might hold that thought in reserve," Aeris joked, good-naturedly. "If Yuffie becomes a proficient Materia thief, it might turn into a decent strategy to try to use against him."

"I'm glad ya think this is so funny," Barret grumbled. But inwardly, he was as amused as Aeris was, even if he would _never_ admit it.

"Hey, you guys," Tifa suddenly interrupted, looking out towards the main street they were hiding from. "What do you think is going on?" Frowning, her friends turned to follow her gaze. They quickly caught sight of a large commotion in which several people had gathered around to watch.

"I don't know," Cloud said, immediately interested. He glanced back for a single moment. "Wait here. I'll check it out." And then he was gone, heading straight towards the crowd, and leaving his friends behind to watch.

OOOOOOO

"I don't believe this," Reno grumbled as a single ShinRa soldier ushered him and Rude out of the inn and onto the street where several other soldiers had a man in chains on his knees in the dirty road. Quite the crowd had appeared to watch, which bothered Reno because he had been aiming to get drunk and was irritable that he wasn't quite to that level yet. This had _better _be good. At first, he didn't think it would be.

"What gives?" he demanded as he stared angrily at the prisoner before him. "This isn't even the right guy!"

"No, sir," the soldier beside him acknowledged. "But he is a lackey. And when we were questioning him to find his boss, he mentioned something we thought you should hear."

"What was it?" Rude asked, looking down at the prisoner curiously. The man stared back up at him, terribly frightened and obviously in some pain. As far as ShinRa was concerned, very few rules were followed in any sort of interrogating process.

"I..." the prisoner hesitated, his body starting to shake. "I... may have said... that you must release me if you don't want anything to happen to her!"

This statement immediately sobered Reno right up. "Who?"

"The..." the prisoner hesitated again, looking nervously from the soldiers to Reno, and ultimately, to the giant bulk of a man that was, in fact, Rude. "Your ally..."

Reno glanced at Rude. "He must be talking about Elena." Rude's face, pale as it was already, completely blanched at such a thought. But he didn't say anything more. Reno turned towards the ShinRa soldiers. "All right. We'll question him. You just get all these people outta my sight."

The soldiers immediately went to work, doing whatever they could to draw off the crowd. Meanwhile, Rude hefted the prisoner to his feet, and the two Turks marched him pointedly back inside the inn.

Cloud, who had listened to the entire exchange from the shelter of the crowd, then managed to slip by the soldiers and headed after the Turks inside the building. He found both Reno and Rude in the lobby, facing away from the door as they glared down at the prisoner they had dumped onto the floor.

"Here's how it's gonna work," Reno was saying with crossed arms. "You're gonna tell us where Elena is."

The man hesitated, waiting for the rest of the threat. It didn't come. Nervously, he prompted: "...or...?"

"There is no 'or'," Reno explained in annoyance. "You're gonna tell us what we want to know and that's that. If you force us to come up with an 'or', you're gonna be _incredibly_ sorry."

By this point, Rude had sensed someone behind him and had turned around. He locked eyes with Cloud, and for a moment, neither of them reacted as they just stared at each other. Finally, Rude turned back towards Reno. "Guess who's here."

Reno glanced over his shoulder and saw the mercenary. "Oh. You gotta be joking."

"I'm not here to fight," Cloud quickly assured the two Turks. "I'm just looking for one of mine."

"It _better_ not be Aeris," Reno stated, turning back to the prisoner with a new edge to his voice. "Or you're really not gonna be just sorry. You're gonna be _miserable_."

"Who are you missing?" Rude asked.

"Yuffie," Cloud replied, much to the prisoner's relief. "She's the teenager. Dark haired, and kind of obnoxious." The prisoner tensed, his alarm swiftly returning into his face.

"Looks like she might be with Elena," Reno said, having caught the guilty look in his prisoner's expression.

Cloud frowned and glared down at the prisoner. "And who exactly is it we're dealing with here?"

"Someone you should be familiar with," Reno replied. "You met him in Midgar. Got him to spill his guts out to you about ShinRa's plans for sector seven. Don Corneo."

Cloud's eyes widened in surprise. He remembered the Don alright. The freaking pervert Tifa very well nearly killed. "He's here?"

"Yep," Reno said, glumly. "And if you ask me, I think it's about time we gave him a taste of what the Turks can really do."

OOOOOOO

As the rest of Avalanche waited patiently for Cloud, they were _shocked_ to see him leaving the inn in the company of the Turks! As they watched from the shelter of the side road they had rendezvoused on, the mercenary, Reno, and Rude paused for a moment to speak with each other one final time before Cloud headed back towards them and the Turks started off towards another side road in the other direction.

"Hey, man!" Barret practically pounced on Cloud when he reached them. "Wha' the _hell_ are you thinking?"

"Don Corneo," Cloud quickly informed them. The name meant nothing to Vincent, Cid, or Red Thirteen, but the rest of the group stared at the mercenary in surprise, shock, and incredulity. Cloud looked at Barret apologetically. "Apparently, he's here with a few lackeys, and they've abducted both Yuffie _and_ Elena."

"So we're gonna cooperate with the Turks until we get them back?" Aeris asked.

"Nope," Cloud immediately shook his head, more for Barret's sake than for anyone else's. "We've just agreed not to bother each other until this thing's settled. If they get to him first, they'll leave Yuffie alone. If we get to him first, we've gotta leave Elena alone."

"Shit," Barret was shaking in his anger. "That damn excuse for a-"

"Who the _hell_ is Don Corneo?" Cid interrupted.

"He's a pervert," Tifa answered simply. "He lived in Midgar and he likes to take advantage of girls."

"Bastard," Cid glowered angrily and turned back towards Cloud. "Do we know where he is?"

"Yeah," Cloud nodded. "The prisoner talked. Luckily, Corneo's money doesn't inspire _that_ much loyalty in his followers. But still. He's using Elena to ward off the Turks, but it might be too late for Yuffie. We have to hurry."

"Then let's go," Tifa ordered. She had gone easy on Corneo once. It wasn't going to happen again.

OOOOOOO

Presently, Don Corneo was standing in an old overgrown garden far from the populated part of Wutai. Here, he could listen to two girls screaming as loudly as they could without fearing that someone might hear and attempt a rescue. And, he was coming to realize, he rather liked the sound of screaming girls.

Not that they were really screaming, or anything. More like simply shouting out in righteous anger. Neither one of them seemed afraid. They were too pissed off to be scared. But nevertheless, the Don delighted in it.

They were both similarly positioned upright on the ground, each leaning against their own post – which stretched up, along with several others, to support a wooden overhang. Their wrists were tied tightly together behind those posts, their ankles were bound, and they were both blindfolded.

"Let! Me! Go!" Yuffie was shouting furiously as she struggled with the ropes holding her back. Otherwise, she felt certain she would have lunged forward to strangle this _freak_ to his death.

The Don glanced appreciatively at the two other men who kept him company. None of them were aware that anything at all had happened to their third companion. "I like these two. They're simply _delicious_."

"Hey! I'm a Turk!" Elena shouted indignantly. "Don't think you can get away with this!"

"My father's lord here!" Yuffie dared to say. "If you touch me it'll mean _war_!" That was obviously an exaggeration, but the teenager hardly cared. She was _not_ going to lose something to _that_ _pervert_!

"I can hardly wait," Corneo informed her gleefully.

"You're so disgusting!" Yuffie shouted, all the while resenting herself for not paying closer attention to the rope lessons she had been given as a child. She thought back to when she had originally teamed up with her friends... Cloud and Tifa had wanted to tie her down somewhere, but she had them believing no knot could hold her. How _embarrassing_ was this?

But then, suddenly, and without warning, a whole handful of men, and two women, threw open a door that led into the garden from the house it had been grown for. Corneo and his two men spun around in surprise, and though neither Yuffie nor Elena could see the intruders, their spirits nevertheless lifted considerably.

"That's enough!" Cloud stated softly as he, Tifa, and Barret stood side by side before Corneo. Aeris and the others spread out in the garden to effectively surround Corneo and his men.

"Cloud!" Yuffie shouted, recognizing the voice, though uncertain of whether or not _his_ presence was a good thing. After all... she _had_ stolen his Materia and then locked him and Aeris up inside a cage together, hadn't she?

"Well, well, well," Corneo said, staring at Cloud critically. "Long time no see." He glanced around at the rest of the team. "Friends of yours?"

"Got that right, you ugly Midgar hyena," Barret shot back.

"Damn," Cid added, shaking his head in disgust. "Maybe God'd forgive an ugly bastard like you for abducting two girls, but I sure as hell won't."

"Shut up!" Corneo scowled defensively. "None of you know how much I've suffered since that night in Midgar! It's a long story, but-"

"I don't give a damn," Cid cut in violently. "Now you're either gonna let the two girls go, or I'm gonna break your arm!"

"Why stop there?" Tifa asked softly. Suddenly Corneo noticed the woman, and his face paled considerably as he remembered the rough treatment she had dealt out the last time he had seen her.

Suddenly, as if in defense of women everywhere, Tifa shot forward. The two other men in Corneo's company were obviously well paid bodyguards, for they both jumped in Tifa's path. Corneo quickly backed away until he stood between both Yuffie and Elena, alarmed as Tifa quickly and efficiently brought her opponents to their knees.

It was the first time Vincent and Cid had ever seen the woman, who was generally so quiet and seemingly gentle, fight it out with someone. Both of them were obviously surprised, and Cid even went so far as to swear slowly and boisterously.

"Hey!" Yuffie shouted. "Someone get this blindfold off of me! I wanna watch!"

Tifa turned towards Corneo, but stopped as quickly as she had begun. For the Don, towering over Yuffie and Elena, had a gun in each of his hands, and was aiming them at either of the two girls tied down. He was grinning maniacally. Especially at Tifa.

"What were you thinking of doing?" he asked her snidely. "Go ahead and try it! You can lose your friends as you lost sector seven!"

Tifa visibly flinched, and her face grew so pale that her friends almost thought she had suddenly fallen very ill. Tears filled in her eyes as Corneo quickly reopened one of her more painful wounds.

"You damn asshole!" Barret shouted furiously. "Dirty playing bastard!" It was all he could do not to charge forward and blast the freak straight to hell.

"Oh!" Corneo feigned sympathy as he mocked them. "Did I hit too far below the belt? I'm sorry. Ha! Looks like _I'm_ the one laughing last!"

"No," a new voice cut in. "I think that'd be us."

"What?" Corneo barked as Cloud and the others turned towards the door they had burst in through. Reno suddenly walked out and joined them in the garden. Rude was not with him. Corneo practically hissed at the sight of the red-headed Turk. "You!"

Reno shrugged, nonchalantly. "You knew this was gonna happen ever since you leaked the president's secret. We're gonna take care of you, Corneo. Personally."

Corneo kept his guns focused on Elena and Yuffie, though his hands were shaking slightly in his rage. "Damn it! Then they're coming with me!" He cocked the weapons with surprising ease.

"No!" Tifa screamed.

But suddenly a great bulky mass flipped down from the overhang those posts were supporting that Yuffie and Elena had been tied to. Rude had been waiting on top of it, out of Corneo's sight, but by now he had jumped off, landing gracefully behind the Don. He tossed up his leg, planting his foot violently in Corneo's back and sending the man stumbling forward onto his hands and knees. Both guns flew harmlessly away from him.

"Good timing, Rude," Reno praised as Corneo rolled around and stared up at the newcomer in surprise and fear.

Rude nodded. "Let's get to work."

Reno pushed past the Avalanche members so that he and Rude both towered together over Corneo. "All right, Corneo," Reno was saying. "This'll be over quick, so listen up. Why do you think we went through all the trouble of teaming up with those guys-" Here, he gestured towards Cloud and Tifa. "-to get to you? One. Because we were ready to die? Two. Because we were sure of victory? Or Three. Because we were clueless?"

"Um...?" Corneo hesitated, staring up at the Turks in obvious alarm. "Because... Two! Number Two!"

Reno shook his head. "All wrong!"

Suddenly, Rude grabbed the post that Yuffie was tied to and violently pulled it so that it broke apart. Yuffie screamed as a little bit of rubble landed on top of her. But Rude ignored her, turning back towards Corneo with the post, which he then slammed down on the pathetic excuse of human being, immediately knocking the guy out.

"Because it's our job," he stated coldly, glaring down at their unconscious prisoner. With that taken care of, the two Turks immediately turned to assist Elena even as Cloud and Aeris ran to help untie Yuffie.

"Thank you," Elena wrapped her arms around Reno as soon as she was untied and her blindfold gone. "I never expected you would come help!" Rude watched in amusement as Reno's face turned pink.

"Elena!" he gently pushed her away. He didn't know what to say to such gratification, and he was all too aware that half of Avalanche was watching them critically. So he fell back on being nonchalant. "Don't act so weak! You're a Turk!"

Elena nodded as Rude helped her to her feet. "Yes, sir." She seemed rather happy, and Reno found she looked prettier that way. Before she noticed him blushing, however, he turned away, and found himself nearly face to face with Barret.

"Never thought you'd come an' help us," the man told him with crossed arms. Reno didn't reply.

Instead, he turned to help Rude pull out handcuffs to officially imprison Corneo and his two thugs. As they did so, Elena stepped up towards them rather nervously.

"Um, you guys," she said to catch their attention. Once she gained it, she looked pointedly at Cloud. "Before I was... um... abducted, I happened to receive word from the company."

This caught _everyone's_ attention, and Cloud, Aeris, and the all rest looked at Elena apprehensively.

"Oh yeah?" Reno asked. "What'd they want?"

"Just a new assignment," Elena explained. "Apparently, Cloud and his friends stole an airplane from Rufus."

"_What_?" Cid shouted furiously. "I don't think so! That plane belonged to _me_ and that fucker was the one who was gonna steal it!"

"Whatever man," Reno said calmly, rolling his eyes. He looked back at Elena. "And?"

"The president would like us to apprehend Cloud," she informed them, glancing at the mercenary apologetically. For a moment no one spoke or moved a muscle as the members of Avalanche watched the Turks suspiciously and vice versa.

But then, Reno shrugged. "Well that's just fine. But I, myself, as a professional, am going to see these three to prison before I do _anything_ else. Considering we've all been off duty today, I think I've done more than my fair share of work." He glanced towards Tifa with a smile. "By the way, baby, you looked as sharp as ever, kicking these guys' asses the way you did."

Tifa's face flushed furiously, and she somehow forgot the pain Corneo's words concerning sector seven had caused her as she glowered at her offender in distaste. "Get out of here, Reno."

The Turk gave her a mock salute as he hoisted Corneo off the ground. Rude similarly picked up the two other prisoners, tucking them each under one of his large arms. With Elena beside them, they made their way out of the garden and back towards the populated part of Wutai.

"Enough with all of that already!" Yuffie proclaimed, bringing their attention back onto her. Cloud and Aeris were sitting on either side of her, each of them holding one of her arms, which were now free of the rope as she was free of the blindfold. But unlike Elena, her ankles were still tied. She glowered at Cloud. "Hurry up and finish untying me!"

Cloud glared at her evilly. "Sorry Yuffie. Not until you give us a wholehearted explanation. And it had better be good."


	34. Without Determination

**Chapter Thirty-Three: Without Determination**

An hour had passed by the time Yuffie had explained to her friends everything that had happened and why. How she had grown up seeing her father submit to their enemies, even though her father had always told her he was completely against their enemies. How her relationship with her father had steadily deteriorated. How she had decided to leave Wutai and find Materia that she might help restore dignity to her home. How she had come to decide, periodically, while traveling with Avalanche, that she should return home and find out for sure if her decision had been the right one. How the airplane crash had pretty much been the final straw. How she had taken their Materia so that she might not return home in disgrace. How she hadn't made it there before losing consciousness. How she had awoken in her room in Wutai without any Materia on her at all. How her father's servant had told her the Materia was now in Godo's possession. And how she had feared her friends' reactions, and so had run from them. All in all, _she_ certainly thought it was a 'wholehearted', 'good' explanation. And apparently, her friends found it acceptable.

Presently, the sun was falling low in the sky as they made their way back to the populated part of Wutai. They were all feeling terribly weary, and were ready for sleep. The plane crash, after all, had not been that far off in the past, and they still felt its consequences on their bodies. And so, they painfully made their way back to the inn, where they then paid for several rooms and hastened to bed.

Halfway through the night, Yuffie awoke with a start. She immediately remembered where she was and the day's events from before. Hardly making a sound, she rolled over so that she lay on her back and could stare up at the ceiling. On the bed, to her right, Tifa was sleeping soundlessly, and Yuffie couldn't help but wonder how readily the older woman would wake should Yuffie try anything again. Did her friends really trust her? Could they forgive her so easily?

Aeris and Cait Sithe probably did, she told herself. They were the two closest friends she had ever had in her life. But they were just two out of eight. Did Cloud, Tifa, and the rest still trust her? She wouldn't blame them if they didn't, but it still saddened her. A terrible thought then entered her mind. What if the only reason they had rescued her from Don Corneo at all was simply so that they could get their Materia back?

Such thoughts brought tears to Yuffie's eyes, but she managed to fight them down. Had she lost the first family she had found after renouncing the family she had in Wutai? Such a thought was too much for her to bear. She found herself stumbling out of bed.

As she might have known, Tifa was instantly awake. The woman sat up and turned gracefully towards the teenager. "Yuffie?"

"Go back to sleep, Tifa," the girl muttered, hating herself for the tears even _she_ could hear in her voice.

"Yuffie, what's wrong?" Tifa asked, genuinely sounding concerned as she got out of bed.

"Nothing," Yuffie lied, walking towards the door. But before she could open it, a gentle hand reached out to touch her shoulder. She turned towards the owner of that hand, and could see warmth in Tifa's eyes, and not the cold suspicion she had suspected. She caught her breath. And then: "I _have_ to get your Materia back for you!"

"Yuffie," Tifa said gently. "We'll get it back together in the morning. It's alright."

"I've caused you so much trouble," Yuffie replied. "I have to do this!"

"You don't have to prove anything to us."

"I'm not trying to prove it to _you_," Yuffie declared, emotion running strong in her voice. "But to me!"

"Yuffie," Tifa stared at her with sorrow taking shape on her face and in her eyes. "Don't go. If anyone has to right some wrong tonight, then it's me. I judged you too early, and... I think I now understand why you left Wutai. If I said anything... I'm sorry."

"Tifa..." Yuffie felt her heart lighten considerably. Tifa had forgiven her after all. For the young teenager was not so young that she failed to hear the other woman's sincerity. If Tifa had forgiven her, then it wasn't just Aeris and Cait Sithe against the remaining six, it was Aeris, Cait Sithe, _and_ Tifa against the remaining five! And Yuffie liked those odds a _whole_ lot better. But still...

"There's something I need to do," Yuffie told her companion. She hesitated for a moment, but then looked at Tifa hopefully. "Will you come with me?"

"Where are we going?" Tifa asked.

"To the pagoda," Yuffie told her. "The Pagoda of the Five Sacred Gods. The tallest tower in Wutai."

OOOOOOO

It may have been the tallest tower in Wutai, but as far as towers went, it was actually pathetically short. After having climbed the skyscraper that was the ShinRa Headquarters, Tifa would have thought to find a five story pagoda hardly impressive. But as she approached it, in the middle of the night, with Yuffie at her side, she quickly discovered that such an assumption was misled.

For though the pagoda was no where near a match for the ShinRa Headquarters in the way of actual height, there was something else about it that made it equally as imposing. The architecture perhaps. There was a quality to this building that ShinRa completely and utterly lacked. A quality that was more ancient, more elegant, and simply more powerful. The pagoda had stood in Wutai for generations. Yuffie said it had been built more than a hundred years ago. And Tifa had the strange impression that though ShinRa was a company that had risen to power, one day, like all things that rose so high, it would fall. On the other hand, the Pagoda of the Five Sacred Gods, though not quite as influential as ShinRa, was nevertheless built solidly and firmly in its place, as the stars in the sky above had been, and would remain there long after ShinRa had fallen. Tifa didn't know whether or not Yuffie could sense that, but it was still a comfort to the woman.

"The pagoda," Yuffie was telling Tifa. "It is guarded on each level by one of Wutai's five most powerful warriors. If I can beat them... then it will mean I am a true warrior of Wutai as well, and my father will no longer be able to deny it." She glanced sideways at her companion. "See. This isn't about proving myself to the rest of you. I have to do this just for me."

"Yuffie," Tifa was frowning. "Are you sure this is the right time? We're all still recovering from a plane crash."

"Good," Yuffie replied stubbornly. "That way, if they go easy on me, it'll cancel out."

The first floor of the pagoda was long and rectangular in shape. When Yuffie and Tifa entered, they quickly took in the sight of a staircase in the back of the room, as well as a shrine dedicated to one of the Five Sacred Gods. But in-between that and them was an enclosed wooden fighting ring. The boundaries of that ring were marked by where the wood disappeared beneath blue carpet.

In the center of that ring, a man sat in deep meditation. He did not face Tifa or Yuffie, but was instead focusing in the direction of the shrine. Nevertheless, as the two girls approached, he could sense them, and he gracefully stood and turned to face them. But when he saw Yuffie, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Hey," she said pleasantly, trying to keep any sign of nervousness out of her voice. But Tifa could still hear it, and she guessed this first warrior did too, for his surprised countenance quickly softened.

"Hello, miss Yuffie," there was fondness in his voice. "Do you look to climb the pagoda today?"

Yuffie took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes. Tifa has agreed to be my witness." The first warrior glanced at the other woman, who nodded firmly.

"Very well," he said, stepping slightly backwards. "Join me here." Yuffie nodded again, and started towards the wooden ring.

"Yuffie-" there was an edge in Tifa's voice that caught the teenager's attention. She looked back at her companion with a reassuring smile.

"You can't help me, Tifa," she told her. "No advice or anything like that. I'll be just fine."

Tifa nodded. "You're right. You will be."

For a moment, Yuffie just stared at Tifa, uncomprehending. Was Tifa saying she had _faith _in her? It took the teenager a moment to get used to such an idea, and when she was able to, she felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. When she turned back to the first warrior, she felt stronger and more sure of herself than she ever had before.

She stepped onto the wood. The two opponents then took a moment to bow at the waist towards each other in respect. And a moment later, the fight began.

The first warrior quickly took for himself the offensive. He rushed towards Yuffie faster than she had thought possible, drawing from his belt a short sword. Yuffie set her mouth in determination, and agilely cart-wheeled away from him. He stopped with impossible swiftness, and turned towards her while gracefully lifting his sword. By this point, Yuffie was on her feet again, and she expertly pulled her four-bladed boomerang from her back.

A moment later, the warrior was practically on top of her. He brought his sword down, but Yuffie deflected the attack with the boomerang. They fought like that for some time, powerfully swinging their weapons, but to no apparent effect. Until Yuffie realized her arms were growing tired.

That thought alarmed her. Desperate to break away from him, she waited until he had once again swung his sword, and then quickly repositioned her boomerang so that his blade landed in-between two of hers. Thinking back to her wonderful little moment in that truck when she had first joined Avalanche and had driven them like a maniac through the woods, Yuffie spun her boomerang like she had the wheel. It caused his sword to come flying out of his hands.

He wasted no time in acting surprised, but instead quickly pulled away from her. He watched, slightly impressed as Yuffie grabbed the sword and carelessly tossed it outside the ring's boundaries. Unfortunately for her, it was not the only weapon he possessed.

She turned back towards him in time to see him hold up several bladed ninja stars. With expert ease, he threw them at her.

Yuffie squealed, but responded to the attack with both grace and speed that Tifa hadn't known she possessed by grabbing several of her own ninja stars off her belt that Tifa similarly hadn't known she possessed. Yuffie flung them out to meet the first warrior's stars, and the several discs met in the air and were deflected off in various directions, landing harmlessly on the floor.

Yuffie breathed a sigh of relief, but that moment quickly passed as she saw the warrior charging towards her. Squealing again, she vaulted high into the air, flipping over him in an elevated somersault. She landed firmly on two feet, and glanced over her shoulder to see the warrior come to an immediate halt right before the carpet. He began to turn back towards her.

But Yuffie was faster. She spun around to face him, sending her boomerang flying as she did. The boomerang spun with speed and power Yuffie could never have had herself. It crashed into the warrior, who remained safe from its blades under his armor. But the force of the boomerang alone was enough to send the man stumbling backwards and out of bounds.

He grabbed the boomerang in his hands as he realized what had happened. For a moment, he, Yuffie, and Tifa were all too stunned to breathe. He was out of bounds! Yuffie had won the match!

"I did it!" Yuffie cried, holding her arms up in the air and dancing around in a slight jig. "I did it!" She turned and bolted towards Tifa, wrapping her arms around the woman in a celebratory embrace. Tifa actually laughed as she joined in and returned Yuffie's hug.

"Well done," the first warrior approached the two friends in approval. Yuffie released Tifa and turned towards him with sparkling, joyous eyes. Forcing herself to settle down, she regained some dignity as the warrior handed her boomerang back to her in appraisal. "You handled yourself well."

"You were a worthy opponent," she told him.

He nodded. "Yes, well. You still have a long way to go before you reach the fifth floor. I wish you well on your climb."

"Thank you," Yuffie said, placing her boomerang onto her back. She then reached for Tifa's hand, and together, the two girls made their way to the back of the room, up the stairs, and towards the second floor.

OOOOOOO

Morning soon arrived, and with it, Cloud awoke. He sat up in bed, wondering how much longer they would have to stay in Wutai. All he wanted to do was start up after Sephiroth again. Every moment they wasted, their enemy got farther away, and more than likely closer to whatever he was looking for at the Temple of the Ancients.

Climbing out of bed, he quickly readied himself for the day ahead and looked towards the other bed in which Vincent had slept the night before. The former Turk was not there, and Cloud figured he must have gotten up earlier.

As Cloud left the room, he met Aeris in the hall with Red Thirteen coming out of the room behind her. They smiled at each other, but a moment later, before they could speak, another door opened. Cloud watched as Cait Sithe's moogle hobbled out into the hallway ahead of Cid and Barret. The latter two were trying to keep as quiet as they could, out of courtesy, as they bickered angrily with each other over something or other. Cloud quickly decided that they would _not_ be sharing rooms together in the future.

"Do you guys know if Tifa and Yuffie are awake yet?" he asked, cutting in between Cid and Barret's argument to change the topic.

"Uh, yeah!" Aeris nodded her head enthusiastically. "Tifa woke me up last night to tell me she was taking Yuffie to the pagoda outside."

Cloud glanced at her in surprise. "The _what_?"

"It was the tower we saw coming into Wutai," Red Thirteen calmly explained. Cloud stared at them in astonishment.

"Why the hell would they wanna go _there_?" Barret demanded as Cid crossed his arms.

"I don't know, but I kinda felt left out," Aeris told them with a shrug and a smile. "I wanted to go, but I guess it was just something the two of them had to do."

"Are we supposed to just wait for them?" Cloud asked.

"No."

Cloud and the others all turned in surprise to see Vincent making his way towards them from the lobby. He stopped when he reached them and crossed his arms.

"There's someone, and I doubt you'll believe who, who wants to speak with the 'so-called friends' of his daughter," Vincent informed them. And for a moment, none of them could respond, so great was their surprise.

OOOOOOO

In the time that had passed since Yuffie and Tifa's expedition into the pagoda, the young teenager had somehow managed to defeat not only the first warrior, but the second, third, and fourth, as well. It was astonishing, really. But Yuffie was drawing from reserves Tifa had been unaware the girl possessed, and she was proving to be a better fighter than anyone could _ever_ have predicted.

Presently, they were climbing up to the fifth floor. It looked like all the others they had been on, though its shrine was larger and more extravagant, dedicated to the Sacred God of the Sea, Leviathan.

However, Tifa and Yuffie quickly realized there was one significant difference that set this particular floor apart from the four previous ones. Namely, there was no warrior here.

"Hey!" Yuffie objected, running forward to see if he might be hiding somewhere. "What gives?"

Tifa was frowning thoughtfully as she slowly walked after the teenager. "Is this supposed to be some kind of test?"

"Hardly," a voice from behind informed them.

Yuffie and Tifa both turned back towards the stairs to watch as a man climbed up after them. Both girls immediately recognized him, and Yuffie's face blanched.

Behind him, Cloud, Aeris, and the rest of their companions were climbing up as well, and behind _them_ were the four previous pagoda warriors. And though Tifa was able to greet her friends, all of whom looked more awed than anything else, Yuffie could only stare at the original man who had addressed them.

Her voice shook when she spoke. "Dad?"

Godo was approaching her with a small smile on his lips. For once, he did not look critical of his daughter. "Yuffie. I'm glad you made it this far."

"I... I don't understand!" Yuffie took a small step backwards. "I was supposed to meet the fifth warrior here!"

"I am the fifth warrior," Godo informed her patiently. "And now, you have the chance to prove to me that you are in fact a warrior of Wutai yourself." He widened his step, walking past her so that he stood in the wooden ring. Yuffie turned back towards him rather dejectedly. She couldn't _believe_ this!

"You mean I have to fight _you_?"

"Do you not want to?" Godo asked, staring at his daughter with a strange mixture of pride and amusement.

"I..." Yuffie hesitated. Of course she _wanted_ to. She _wanted_ to show her father that she was stronger than he. That she was not bringing Wutai dishonor as he had claimed. But... she had not expected _this_ when entering the pagoda.

"Yuffie," Godo was staring at her thoughtfully. "You always speak of how dishonorable and cowardly I am, and how you fight for Wutai. If you truly believe that, why did it take you so long to decide to come here?"

"I wasn't strong enough before now," Yuffie admitted. Her voice grew defensive. "I am now, though! I've seen true warriors fight for honorable reasons against powerful enemies!" She glanced back at Cloud, Tifa, and the rest for a moment before looking back to Godo. "I'm a part of that fight now and I won't lose to you!"

"Then come," Godo invited her. "Show me."

Yuffie set her jaw angrily, and pulled her boomerang from her back. She raced towards her father, ignoring the protocol she had observed on the four previous floors. She jumped into the air, flying towards her father with her weapon poised to strike.

He easily sidestepped, grabbing her by her arm and waist with his two large hands, and then savagely throwing her down onto the floor. She cried out in slight pain.

"Yuffie!" Aeris made to run forward, but Tifa caught her hand. The Cetra looked back at the other girl miserably, but Tifa gave her a reassuring smile.

"She's stronger than you realize," she said confidently. Cloud and the others heard Tifa's words as well as Aeris, and took some comfort in them as they watched the fight between the father and daughter in increasing concern.

Yuffie was hardly the martial artist that Tifa was. Nevertheless, she tossed a leg out towards her father with violent speed, warding him off as she jumped back to her feet. Her boomerang, she noticed, had skidded far away from her and now lay out of her reach and out of bounds.

Her father drew a broad sword. Yuffie looked at it, truly alarmed by then. Godo didn't look like he had any intention of holding back, and she was growing exhausted from her previous matches. This wasn't looked very encouraging.

He swung his sword towards her. Yuffie was barely able to dive out of the way. He lunged towards her and she fell backwards, landing on the floor. He brought his sword up above him, but as he did so, Yuffie caught sight of a small orb hanging on his belt.

Desperate, Yuffie suddenly scrambled towards him, grabbing one of her remaining ninja stars in one hand as she reached for the handle of his sword with the other. Using all her strength to hold the surprised Godo off, she brought the ninja star down on his belt, breaking it and sending the Materia he had tied there flying to the floor. Yuffie broke away from him then, racing after the orb before it rolled out of bounds after her boomerang.

She caught it while falling to her knees. It flashed a bright blue as soon as her hands closed around it, and a wave of energy shot out from its core. Godo was propelled backwards and landed heavily on the ground out of bounds. For a moment, no one moved as both Yuffie and Godo struggled to catch their breaths and overcome the resulting shock of Yuffie's surprising triumph.

"You did it!" Aeris squealed, breaking free from Tifa and running towards her friend. Yuffie looked up in surprise as Aeris fell to the ground beside her and flung her arms around the teenager.

The four warriors from the previous floors calmly walked over to stand beside Godo as the Lord of Wutai got back up onto his feet. They all looked surprised, but pleasantly so, as if their defeat was not in any way a loss.

Yuffie got to her feet as well, with Aeris still congratulating and praising her with joyous exuberance. But for once, her mood was not contagious for the teenager. In fact, Yuffie looked every bit as angry as she did before the match had begun.

"What do you have to say now?" she demanded of her father, stepping towards him and away from her friends. Godo studied her critically for a moment before he could reply.

"I say you still have much to learn," he informed her, though there was a hint of a smile on his face.

"What?" Yuffie asked, frustration overflowing in her heart. "_Why?_ I _beat_ you!"

"You knocked me out of bounds," Godo corrected. "As, I hear, you did with each of the others."

Yuffie's face turned beat red. Of course she could not deny it. The only reason she had won those fights at all was because of the boundary rule. And now that she thought about it, knocking people out of bounds certainly didn't _prove_ anything. Boundaries wouldn't help her in a match against Sephiroth.

"Maybe I do," she finally allowed, forcing herself to bite down her anger. Now that she had defeated her father in a match, she needed to prove that she could keep her temper against him as well.

"Did you notice the irony?" Cloud meanwhile asked Tifa, who he had come to stand beside. "The only reason she won _this_ match was by stealing someone's Materia." Tifa smiled at that, and Cait Sithe, who had heard as well, chuckled.

"You're right," Yuffie said, also having heard the mercenary. She walked towards her father, holding her hand out to offer him the Materia she had somehow managed to take from him. "I expect you'll give me all the Materia I had on me when I was brought here in return for this."

Godo stared down at the Materia in his daughter's hand, but then shook his head. "Of course I will return the Materia to their rightful owners. But you have earned this piece for yourself. For you have brought honor to Wutai."

Yuffie blinked, staring up at her father uncertainly. Had she heard him correctly? Did he actually just say that? "Really...?"

"Lord Godo," one of the other warriors protested. "The Leviathan Materia is meant only for the person who takes responsibility over the pagoda. Yuffie cannot take that responsibility and still give in to her wander lust. For her to be given that Materia, she must stay in Wutai. That is our custom."

"Custom?" Yuffie felt her frustration, which had ebbed significantly with her father's unexpected praise, suddenly returned tenfold. "Is that _all_ the people of Wutai care about? I'm so sick of it! It's stupid!"

"You should not speak with such disrespect," the second warrior told her in disapproval. "For that does not help Wutai's honor."

"Some things have to spoken for the good of honor," Yuffie declared. "I'll tell you what _doesn't_ help Wutai's honor! Warriors as powerful as all of you hiding in this tower! Does that bring you satisfaction?"

"Yuffie," Godo tried to cut in gently, but the teenager would not hear it. She turned on him with renewed resent.

"What about you?" she demanded. "You lost the war! Does that give you the right to allow ShinRa into our homes? Just because of _that_, must Wutai become a stupid resort town that peddles to tourists? How dare you? The Da-chao Statue and Leviathan have been shamed!"

Suddenly, and without warning, Godo laughed. Yuffie nearly fell over backwards, and her friends looked on in increasing interest while the four other warriors were practically pouting in disapproval. Godo looked at them in haughty amusement. "Did you think you had heard the last of her spirit? I certainly did." He turned back towards Yuffie with a shine she had never seen before in his eyes. "Only now do I realize she still lives and burns inside of you."

"Who does?" Yuffie asked, her anger receding slightly as curiosity swelled through her.

"Your mother," Godo stated. "I didn't recognize her in you before. I must say, Yuffie, if you ever choose to stay in Wutai, then those of us who lead the city are going to have it rough keeping it up to your standards. But your mother was the same."

"She was?" Yuffie asked, surprised, but strangely pleased. Her father had never mentioned her mother to her before. Her anger completely left her then, as a new emotion made its presence known inside of her.

"Yes," Godo smiled at her fondly. "Yuffie. You and I do not often agree on anything. But we both want what is best for Wutai. But in the way we fight for it, our strategies diverge. You seek to defeat our enemies outright. I once felt the same, and so supported the war with ShinRa. But then I realized we were to lose. And I discovered for myself that strength is not the only way to victory."

"I don't understand," Yuffie gazed steadily into her father's eyes, for once seeking to learn something from him. She had never thought that _that_ would ever happen.

"Yuffie," her father watched her patiently. "What is the difference between Wutai and ShinRa?"

"Wutai has honor," Yuffie immediately replied.

"But what gives that to Wutai?" her father prompted. "Our strength? But that faltered underneath ShinRa during the war. So what is left?"

"We aren't evil," Yuffie said uncertainly. Her father chuckled at that.

"Are we not?" he asked. "That is because of your point of view. I am sure that there are those in Midgar who lost loved ones because of Wutai. Are we not evil in their eyes?"

Cloud, Tifa, and Barret immediately glanced at Aeris. The Cetra was watching Godo, listening in interest to his words, and showing no sign of either sorrow or resent. Nevertheless, her three friends wondered if she thought of her adopted mother then, whose husband had died at the hands of some soldier fighting for Wutai so many years ago.

"Then what is it?" Yuffie asked.

"Respect, for one," Godo said pointedly, and Yuffie felt her face redden. But then he continued: "But also a strong will that stubbornly fights our enemies, even if our blades do not.

"We have purpose, Yuffie," Godo continued. "We do not have to seek blindly for treasures that in the end will only harm ourselves. And we have meaning. We do not have to force others into submission to prove it. That is what separates us from ShinRa. Honor must be defended with a blade when it is appropriate. But for it to be honor, it must be defended in peace when a blade is not appropriate. For it to be honor, we must have the determination to avoid violence until there is no other option. Without such determination, strength means nothing. And determination without strength is equally useless."

So that was why. Yuffie stared up at her father feeling, for the first time in her life, rather withdrawn. Her father chose not to fight ShinRa, not because he was a coward, but because he knew one day ShinRa would fall, while Wutai would remain standing. And therefore, it was unnecessary to wield a blade when time would take care of the enemy on its own. She had been wrong about her father after all. And much to her surprise, she found herself _happy_ that she had been wrong about him.

"You never taught me this," she said quietly. "Why did you wait for me to hate you before you taught me?"

"I was waiting," Godo said. "For you to show me that you were capable of learning it. Not all teenage girls understand such truths. Not all teenagers are _willing_ to understand it. They are too proud."

"I must have disappointed you so much," Yuffie realized, glancing down in shame.

"Perhaps if your mother had lived," Godo acknowledged. "It would have been easier for both of us."

"Maybe," Yuffie agreed. She turned towards Tifa. "You were right. I have a home and a father. And I never should have taken it for granted. Thank you."

"But," Tifa stepped towards the teenager. "I think you should still come with us. If you still want to, I mean."

"Of course I want to!" Yuffie told her, her familiar old cheerfulness returning. "We still have to defeat Sephiroth! There's no _way_ I wanna miss out on that!"

"Sephiroth?" Godo's entire outlook suddenly changed. "I thought you were fighting ShinRa."

Yuffie spun back towards him. "We're fighting both. This isn't just about Wutai anymore dad. I told you I have a place now with a group of honorable warriors who are fighting for something important! We're here to save the planet! Sephiroth's alive and looking for the Temple of the Ancients or something like that because it might help him find the Promised Land. We don't know what he wants there, but with whatever he's planning in addition to ShinRa's Reactors, I gotta feeling the planet's in danger, and we gotta stop them!"

"Promised Land?" Godo was staring at his daughter, apparently feeling overwhelmed by this outburst of information. "Yuffie, there's a _huge_ difference in fighting ShinRa and fighting _Sephiroth_!" And Godo should know. Unlike Yuffie, _he_ certainly remembered the young hero who had led the ShinRa army during the war.

"Don't worry about me, dad," Yuffie told him brightly. She gestured to the eight companions who stood behind her. "I've got plenty of backup."

"Yuffie," Vincent said, crossing his arms. "If anything, _you_ are going to be the backup."

"Yeah, yeah," she waved a hand at him, looking back at her father. "The point is, I've got the chance to help save the world. And I won't let anyone keep me from that."

Godo was obviously _far_ from thrilled with his daughter's decision. He glanced over towards Tifa, Cloud, and Vincent. "You'll keep an eye on her?"

"Don't worry," Tifa said, glaring over at Yuffie. "Apparently rope _is_ effective against your daughter. If she's thinking about walking headfirst into trouble, we'll tie her down and keep her away from it."

"You can try," Yuffie said optimistically. "But you'll never get your hands on me."

"Wanna bet?" Cloud and Aeris asked simultaneously.

"You're on," Yuffie declared. "Whoever wins keeps the Materia!"

OOOOOOO

Yuffie smiled inwardly as she led her friends out of Wutai. It was midmorning, and they had a long way to travel before they could think about stopping for lunch. As it turned out, their little excursion into her home had not been a complete waste of time. They now knew exactly where they needed to head. And Yuffie had learned something that she could not have continued on to face Sephiroth without learning first. That she did, in fact, have a home to return to when this was all over, and a father who would be waiting for her there. And she knew that some of her friends, like Tifa, for example, were not as fortunate as she. And therefore, she should be grateful that she still had what she did.

Tifa was grateful as well that she had what she had. Her hand fell to her belt, where her gray Materia once again hung. She thought about Godo, and the words he had spoken to her when he had returned the tiny sphere.

_He had looked down at her kindly, and with a smile. "I took to heart the words you spoke to me when we first met yesterday. You are wise, and possibly know my daughter better than I. I know your Materia is important to you." Here, he had placed the gray orb into her hand. "I hope it will help you on your journey. And know that you are always welcome here as family."_

Tifa smiled. The world, she knew, was filled with cruel people. But she had found yet another human being who countered such a truth with his own kindness.

Cloud, too, felt some encouragement as far as their quest was concerned. It was good that they had gone to Wutai, for it was from Godo that they had learned to head back to the Corel region, and once again to the Gold Saucer, before searching for the Temple of the Ancients.

_"Yuffie mentioned the Temple of the Ancients," Godo had said when retuning Cloud's Materia to him. "Is that where you are headed?"_

_"It is," Cloud nodded. "But we don't know where to find it."_

_"I myself cannot answer that," Godo said regretfully. "But I do know this. There is a Keystone that you must find before you can even set foot inside the Temple."_

_"A Keystone?" Cloud asked, feeling a well of frustration in his gut. Why must things continue to get more complicated?_

_"I once possessed it," Godo informed him. "But when the war began, I feared what would happen should it fall into ShinRa's hands. So I sold it to an old friend of mine. Dio, of the Gold Saucer."_

So that was where they needed to go. If they could get their hands on the Keystone before Sephiroth or ShinRa, then they would be the ones, for a change, to be ahead of the rest. And for this, Cloud had actually _thanked_ Yuffie for stealing their Materia and running away to Wutai.

Though, Yuffie had thought when he had done so, he would probably one day come to realize he had thanked her too soon. For before she had left Wutai, she had been given one last moment to say goodbye to her father.

_"You really shouldn't worry too much about me," she had told the Lord Godo. "I'll be alright. Sephiroth won't lay a hand on me!"_

_"I'll hold you to that," Godo had assured her as he brought her close into an embrace. "Besides. You have to survive. I have something that you must accomplish after you save the planet."_

_"Really?" Yuffie had asked. "What's that?"_

_"Well," Godo looked down at her with amusement sparkling in his eyes. "After all of this is over, what use will your friends have for their Materia?"_

_"Dad!" Yuffie stared up at him in astonishment._

_"Go with them," he commanded her. "Help them find victory. And then return with their Materia."_

_Yuffie laughed. "You bet!"_

Now she was smiling as they continued out together away from Wutai. They would return to the Gold Saucer and find the Keystone. And then they would find the Temple of the Ancients and teach Sephiroth a thing or two! Yuffie's morale was high once again. The legendary hero would have _no_ idea what hit him!


	35. Alfred, the Legendary Hero

**Chapter Thirty-Four: Alfred, the Legendary Hero**

Needless to say, it took over a week for the group to reach Mount Corel. They didn't worry about having to pass through North Corel, for they were coming from the opposite direction, retracing their steps, and therefore Barret would not have to see his hometown. Nevertheless, they all, aside from Cid and Vincent, felt slightly awkward about returning the way they had come. It made them feel like they were moving backwards instead of forwards.

But the hope of finding the Keystone before anyone else kept them going enthusiastically. Yuffie, having discovered more about her father during her latest visit to Wutai, had suddenly taken an interest in fathers in general. She began questioning her companions about _their_ fathers, and what they remembered best about them.

She even asked Tifa, though she knew the subject was a sore one for the woman. But surprisingly, Yuffie's inquiries only brought to Tifa's mind her happier memories. Memories of _before_ five years ago. So as they made their way to the Gold Saucer, they reminisced on happier times before any of them had even _known_ Sephiroth's name.

And before they knew it, they found themselves climbing up Mount Corel and advancing headfirst into the spectacular festival that was, in fact, the Gold Saucer.

"And this time," Yuffie said, rubbing her hands together maliciously. "I'm gonna win the jackpot for _every_ game!"

"Good luck with that!" Aeris said brightly before turning towards Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Red Thirteen, and Cait Sithe. "And please. Don't go getting yourselves thrown into prison this time!"

Cid frowned, looking critically at the mercenary. "Fucking Prison?"

"Long story," Cloud shot back with a shrug. "Okay. I guess we should look for Dio. He's supposed to have this Keystone thing, right?"

"And the Keystone is what opens the doors at the Temple of the Ancients," Aeris said with a nod. "The sooner we find it, the better."

"And then we'll have one up on ShinRa!" Barret added enthusiastically. "Let's fan out and search the Saucer!"

"Shouldn't we come up with a time and place to meet?" Red Thirteen asked, always the practical one.

"There's a hotel here whose manager actually owes me a favor," Cait Sithe suggested. "It's called the Ghost Hotel. Let's meet up there tonight, okay?" The others agreed, and Yuffie and Aeris quickly ran off together with the small cat urging his moogle on after them.

Vincent walked off in one direction alone, with Barret and Cid running off in another, with Red Thirteen following them as if in order to supervise them or something. Cloud and Tifa were left together, and they made their way off to search on their own.

Surprisingly, it didn't take them that long at all to find the manager of the Gold Saucer. He was sitting in a reserved section of the stadium of the battle arena where Cloud, Tifa, Red Thirteen, and Cait Sithe had been apprehended the last time they were at the Saucer. But unlike the last time they had been there, this time, the stadium lights were already on, and it was crowded with seemingly thousands of cheering people, as mock gladiators had at it out on the stage below.

"Dio!" Cloud shouted above the noise as he and Tifa pushed their way over to the owner. The man glanced towards them, looking _extremely_ bored. But then he recognized the two figures approaching him, and a smile lit up in his eyes.

"Hey, long time no see, my boy!" Dio said cheerfully as Cloud and Tifa made it to him. "How has your journey been?"

"Confusing," Cloud admitted. "We actually have a question for you."

"I'm all ears," Dio said eagerly. "I still feel bad about the way I treated you the last time you were here, and aside from that, _this_ couldn't possibly be any duller."

"We're looking for the Keystone you received from Lord Godo of Wutai," Cloud hastily summarized. "It's supposed to open the Temple of the Ancients, and we need it to continue our journey."

"The Keystone, huh," Dio crossed his arms. "That thing cost a lot of money, you know."

"We're only looking to borrow it," Tifa said helpfully. "We'll bring it back, I promise."

"I'm sure you would," Dio assured her. "But why go through all the trouble when I'm perfectly willing to just _give_ it to you?"

There was an edge in Dio's voice that caught Cloud's attention. He frowned. "What's the catch?"

"Well, you see," Dio leaned forward conspiratorially. "All these matches are actually part of a real competition. But the reigning champion has kind of gotten on my nerves. I would have kicked him out a long time ago if I dictated this place, but I try not to be like ShinRa. Anyway, he's an arrogant one, who can't get his head outta his butt 'cause no one seems able to beat him." Here, Dio winked at Cloud. "You beat him, you can keep the Keystone for yourself!"

Cloud sighed and looked down at the stage where several fights were going on at once. "Which one is he?"

OOOOOOO

Far from the Gold Saucer, in the city of Midgar, a certain ShinRa employee was talking on his company phone. He stood in his office with two prisoners who had yet to be moved to a more convenient location even after all this time. And he was far from pleased.

After all the time that had passed, Elmyra had finally relaxed somewhat, having grown to accept the fact that she was in ShinRa's hands and wasn't getting away any time soon. Marlene, on the other hand, hardly understood what it _meant_ to be a prisoner, and was trying to make the absolute _best_ of the situation. In other words, she was going out of her way to entertain Elmyra, and thus aggravate their keeper.

"You've actually found the Temple of the Ancients?" Reeve asked into his phone as Marlene sang loudly at the top of her lungs.

"Affirmative," Tseng replied from the other end. "Unfortunately, we don't have the slightest idea of how to get inside."

Reeve smirked. "Cloud does." Marlene practically screamed on a high note, making that smirk disappear off Reeve's face as he grimaced.

"Well, that's good," Tseng observed. "Looks like this espionage idea of yours is working out."

"Unlike some other things," Reeve replied, glaring at the little girl who had been left in his care. "Anyway, you need to get the Keystone. Cloud and his companions are looking for it at the Gold Saucer in the Corel area. It should get you inside."

"Will you help us with that?" Tseng questioned.

"Sure," Reeve acknowledged. "It's my job, isn't it? Anyway, for curiosity's sake, where is the Temple?"

"I'll send you its absolute location," Tseng replied. "Check your computer for the data."

"Will do," Reeve assured him. "I'll speak with you later." He hung up the phone and glared pointedly at Marlene. She stopped singing long enough to grin at him. At some point in all of the time that she had been there, she had lost a baby tooth. And Reeve felt a pang of regret that her father couldn't be there to witness it.

He glanced at Elmyra. "Tell her to keep quiet."

Elmyra looked back at him challengingly. "Or what?" Marlene took that moment to sing another particularly high note.

"That's it!" Reeve turned towards the little girl and scooped her up into his arms. Concerned, Elmyra jumped to her feet. He glared at her miserably. "Time out!"

"Time out?" Elmyra stared at him in astonishment. "She can still sing sitting in a corner!"

"I'm bringing her with me into the other room," Reeve replied quickly. "The time out is for you, Elmyra. Don't challenge me, and you won't have to sit in here wondering what's happening to Marlene in there." With that said, he turned towards the other room where his so-called 'toys' lay, and shut and locked the door behind him as he went inside.

OOOOOOO

Night had already fallen by the time all nine companions were reunited in the lobby of the Ghost Hotel. And every single one of them felt the same triumphant delight when they saw the Keystone that Cloud had won fairly in Dio's little competition.

It wasn't that big of an object. It didn't even look like a real key. It was small, black, and shaped slightly like a prism. Made out of a strange material Cloud didn't recognize, it felt too smooth to actually be stone, but then, there was still no other word the mercenary could think of that described it. And as far as size went, it was about the length of decent sized steak knife and about as thick as Cloud's thumb. In any case, it looked authentic enough, and when Aeris saw it, she confirmed that.

"I can feel it," she told them as Cloud allowed her to hold in her hands. "It's definitely from the Cetra."

"You should have seen Cloud fight for it!" Tifa said cheerfully. "Dio had him fight this huge guy who's even bigger than Barret! The guy kept boasting and taunting and mocking Cloud, but he was down and out in literally five seconds! The crowd was in an uproar!"

"Oh, no fair!" Yuffie crossed her arms and pouted. "I wanted to see!"

"Me too," Vincent replied, sounding somewhat skeptical.

"It doesn't matter," Cloud shot back, obviously uncomfortable with the conversation. "We have the Keystone now. Tomorrow, we can continue on after Sephiroth."

"But we don't even know where the Temple of the Ancients is!" Cait Sithe objected.

"We'll figure out where to go from here in the morning," Cloud assured him. "For now, let's just get some rest, okay?"

"Actually," Tifa shook her head. "I'm not ready for sleep yet. I think..." Here she hesitated, and her face flushed slightly. She glanced sheepishly at Cloud. "I wanna try... having some fun while we're here."

Cloud glanced at her in surprise. "You serious?"

Tifa appeared to think about it for a second, and then she nodded. "I mean, yeah. Why not? We're all one up on ShinRa, and apparently Sephiroth, too. We have the Keystone. They don't. So why not celebrate?"

For the first time in a long time, Tifa felt up to such a thing. She could remember a time, not too long ago, when she had thought she would never smile again. But now... perhaps she could finally heal from that. She certainly felt ready for such healing. She hated being miserable.

She smiled softly at Cloud. "I'm gonna go play some games! I'll see you all later!" With that said, she turned and raced out of the hotel.

Cloud smiled, his heart lightening considerably with the knowledge that Tifa was finally making it through all of this. He glanced at Aeris, and she grinned back at him.

"I'll keep an eye on her," Vincent offered before he walked out after the young woman. After all, just because they were ahead of the game didn't mean they weren't still in constant danger. The others might not seem to realize it, but Vincent could never stop thinking about how Sephiroth might appear at any moment and cause any number of destruction if they weren't on guard.

"I think having fun is a good idea," Aeris declared, bolting towards Cloud and grabbing him by his arm. "I wanna spend time with _you_ Cloud! Jus' me an' you!"

Cloud blinked, staring down at her rather flustered. "You wanna what?"

"Come on, Cloud!" She looked up at him with a smile. "I owe you! Don't you wanna?"

He stared down at her, feeling trapped. Of _course_ he _wanted_ to, but over half their friends were watching! But he couldn't very well refuse, or that would hurt her feelings! He felt like his head was spinning. "...Okay..."

"Aw," Yuffie beamed at them. "How cute!"

Cid, Barret, and Red Thirteen were already heading back towards the rooms Cait Sithe had reserved for them, apparently uninterested. Yuffie quickly followed them, pausing only to look back at them and tease them about giving them some 'privacy'.

Cait Sithe glanced at Aeris, who was still holding the Keystone in her hands. "You might wanna give that to us. We'll be staying in the hotel tonight, and if you two are out gallivanting around the Saucer, it might get lost or something."

"Oh!" Aeris smiled and handed the Keystone to the cat. "You're right. Good thinking, Cait Sithe!" The cat just nodded and turned around to follow the others back into the room. And suddenly, Aeris and Cloud were alone together.

"Wow," Aeris turned towards Cloud with what he thought was a rather stunning smile. She reached over to him to take his hand. "It seems like _forever_ since we've been alone together, doesn't it?"

Cloud forced himself to breathe... but without being too obvious about it. "Sure does."

"Come on!" she commanded, pulling him towards the front doors of the hotel. "I promised you a date for being my bodyguard, an' I'm gonna pay in full!"

OOOOOOO

It was very late as Cloud and Aeris walked down the streets of the Gold Saucer. In fact, Cloud wasn't sure if it was still night or if the planet had turned round far enough for it to be early morning. All he knew was that there were still hundreds of people on the streets of the Saucer enjoying all the festivity amongst themselves. And despite their presence, Cloud had not felt more alone with Aeris since he had been with her in that park while they were still in Midgar.

And yet, as awkwardly as the so-called 'date' had started, Cloud was now completely at ease beside her, enjoying himself like he had never before. He had admitted to himself that he loved her. And now he could hardly keep his eyes off of her as he savored every passing moment.

But then... maybe he had thought of that too soon.

For as they passed underneath an arch heading towards another part of the Gold Saucer that had appealed to Aeris, several balloons popped and several firecrackers went off. The couple stopped short in surprise as several staff members rushed towards them in delight while pouring out to them their congratulations.

"What's going on?" Cloud asked nervously as confetti rained down on him and Aeris, who, predictably, looked utterly thrilled by all the attention.

"You two are our one hundredth couple today!" one staff member explained, her face alight with smiles. "You two will be the leads in tonight's show!"

"_Really_?" Aeris asked in delight even as Cloud's face drained of color.

The woman, and all her colleagues, nodded enthusiastically. She glanced at Cloud. "Don't worry. It won't be hard. All you have to do is stand up there and play it however you want. The rest of the cast are professionals, and they'll cover up for you! Come this way."

"What?" Cloud asked, _hardly_ comforted. Aeris tugged on his arm.

"Let's do this, Cloud!" she begged in excitement. "Please! It sounds like so much fun!" All she had to do was ask, and Cloud knew he couldn't say no to her.

But he could certainly _try_. "Aeris. I... I don't think I'd do very well in front... of a lot of people..."

"Please Cloud!" she pouted, and then made like she would cry. And Cloud was trapped.

OOOOOOO

Not long after that, Tifa and Vincent found themselves passing by a certain outdoor stage. Tifa was eating cotton candy and seemed to be having a good time, even with the former Turk following her everywhere. Neither one of them were paying too much attention to the woman who had walked out onto that stage or the group of people sitting in the audience in front of it. In fact, they were both making to walk straight by it without so much as a glance, but without warning, they quickly changed their minds as they overheard one single statement from the woman's mouth.

"This time around we have a special little treat for you all on behalf of it being Enchanted Night," the woman was telling her audience. "The leads will be performed by our lucky one hundredth couple, Cloud Strife and Aeris Gainsborough!"

The people in the audience clapped their hands as both Tifa and Vincent stopped short and glanced at the stage in surprise. The woman had walked off and the curtain had been pulled to the side and a narrator was there standing on stage right.

Tifa glanced up at Vincent. Without a single word, they both turned and headed into the audience. They found aisle seats near the back, and they settled in to watch.

OOOOOOO

_How the hell did I allow this to happen?_ Cloud wondered miserably as he waited for some kind of cue to get him out on stage. He was no actor! This was _not_ his place! He _hated_ the spotlight. But then... Aeris wanted to have fun... _Is this fun?_

The narrator on the stage began to speak. "Long, long, ago, an evil shadow appeared over the peaceful Kingdom of Galdia. Princess Rosa was just kidnapped by the Evil Dragon King, Valvados! What will become of her?" The narrator paused for dramatic effect before continuing. Somewhere in the background, music had been playing to contribute to the performance as well. "Just then, the Legendary Hero, Alfred, appears!"

One of the actors waiting beside Cloud was dressed up as a knight, and he pushed the mercenary out onto the stage beside him. Cloud stumbled slightly to a stop as the knight released him and moved to stand a few feet away, facing the audience. Cloud felt his face turn beat red and a wave of heat flowed through his body.

The actor dressed as a knight glanced towards him. "Oh! You must be the Legendary Hero, Alfred!"

Cloud blinked at the knight, his mind having gone _completely_ blank.

"Hey," the knight whispered at him. "It's your line!" Cloud just stared at him, so the knight shrugged it off and continued. "Yes. The Legendary Knight! I know it in my soul!"

In the audience, Tifa was grinning as she watched Cloud squirm uncomfortably up on stage. Even Vincent had a smile on his face.

"Please... _please_ save Princess Rosa!" the Knight begged of Cloud. Then he seemed to be looking past the mercenary. "Ah! Here comes the King! You can talk to him as well!"

Cloud turned in surprise as another actor rushed on stage, dressed up like some kind of royalty.

"Oh, Legendary Hero, Alfred!" the King panted beside Cloud. "You have come to save my beloved Rosa! On the peak of a dangerous mountain dwells the Evil Dragon King, Valvados! He's kidnapped Princess Rosa!" At this point, the King studied Cloud critically. "You can't beat the Evil Dragon King now! You must talk to the one who can help you."

As if on cue, which it probably was, a trap door on the stage fell open and a man dressed as a wizard was lifted up. He glanced at Cloud haughtily. "I am the great wizard, Vorman! What do you wish to know?"

"Um..." Cloud thought as quickly as he could... it took him almost half a minute. "The Evil Dragon King's weakness?" It was meant to be a question, but it sounded almost as if Cloud was asking whether or not this had been an acceptable line rather than something he truly wanted to know. But, it worked for the rest of the cast.

"Ah," the wizard nodded sagely. "The weakness of the Evil Dragon King. It must be..." he paused for the dramatic effect. "It must be... Yes. It must be true love!"

Cloud felt his face blanch once again at _that_ bit of information. He could tell where this was going, and he wasn't sure he liked it.

"The power of love!" the wizard proclaimed. "It is the only weapon that can withstand the fangs of the Evil Dragon King!"

"Oh, what is going to happen next?" the narrator cried. "Oh, Legendary Hero, look!" He pointed, and everyone on stage followed his gaze.

A man dressed up as a poor excuse for a dragon walked on stage with Aeris cradled in his arms. He was laughing maniacally. "Hahahahahahaha! I am the Evil Dragon King! Valvados! I have not harmed the princess!" He glared at Cloud. "I have been expecting you!"

"Please help me!" Aeris shouted, pretending to struggle uselessly in the dragon's arms. She was really getting into it. "Legendary Hero, Alfred! Help!" Subtly, she glanced at the actor who was holding her. "Like that?" He nodded and let out another loud laugh.

"Here I come, Legendary Hero, Alfred!" he declared exuberantly. "I already know your name!"

"And now, Legendary Hero!" the wizard prompted. "Here is what will happen! To your beloved! A kiss! The power of True Love!"

Cloud hesitated, unsure of what to do. But then, just because he was starting to feel jealous of that other man who was holding Aeris, he walked across the stage. He didn't make much of a show of it, just stood before the dragon and calmly forced Aeris out of the man's arms and into his. Aeris grinned happily as Cloud backed away from the other guy, cradling her in his arms. He did not put her down, just held her close to him protectively. She looked up at him expectantly, and the next thing he knew, they were kissing.

Tifa sat in the audience, watching them solemnly. Everyone else in the audience, aside from Vincent, cheered, clapped, and screamed in utter delight, and some people near the front were actually throwing flowers onto the stage. But Tifa... she didn't want to be there anymore.

Quietly, she stood up and walked away from the performance. Vincent didn't say a word, but stood up as well and followed her.

On the stage, the dragon was crying out in apparent agony. "Ah! Curses! The power of Love!" He stumbled over to the trap door, which the wizard had stepped away from. The trap door fell open again, and the dragon disappeared through it.

Cloud and Aeris were ignoring all of this. He was still holding her, and they were still kissing. It felt, for all the world, like they had melted into one being. He never wanted to let her go.

"Oh look!" the King declared. "Love has triumphed! Let us all now return! And celebrate!"

Everyone else on stage, aside from the lucky one hundredth couple, cried out in agreement.

"Oh, how profound the power of Love!" the narrator romanticized. "And so, the Legendary Hero, Alfred, the beautiful Princess Rosa, and our story live on happily ever after!"

The audience cheered as the curtain closed. But even still, Cloud did not let Aeris go, and they continued to kiss.


	36. Betrayal

**Chapter Thirty-Five: Betrayal**

When Vincent caught up with Tifa, she was huddled on the ground in the corner of a miraculously secluded side road. It was dark there, and aside from the two of them, it was abandoned. Trash blanketed the street, making it look neglected and miserable. _Fitting,_ the former Turk thought glumly as he went to sit down beside the girl.

Tifa had tears in her eyes. She made no show of acknowledging Vincent's presence, and for a moment, he didn't try to press the matter. In the distance, they could hear music being played and the laughter of those who were partaking in all the festivity. And Tifa, who had a moment before been part of that, now wondered, once again, what there was to be so happy about.

A few more minutes passed before Vincent spoke. "I think I understand what you must be feeling right now."

"Do you?" she asked, wiping her eyes with her hands. " 'Cause I certainly don't." It was suddenly difficult for Tifa to breathe, and as she struggled to do so, more tears filled her eyes, making it hard to see anything at all. She couldn't help but think back to a conversation she had on the boat from Junon.

_"You can damage your eyes, you know," Red Thirteen had told her._

_"Sometimes I wonder if my eyes aren't already damaged," she had told him, staring straight ahead into the brilliance of the rising sun. "There's so much I can't seem able to see."_

How had she missed this? Looking back, it had been so obvious. But not until tonight had she truly noticed. She kept picturing Aeris in Cloud's arms, and the way they had kissed each other. She felt foolish by being so upset by it. But... it had meant something.

"I once loved a woman," Vincent told her gently. "But she belonged to someone else. And it hurt that there was nothing I could do about it."

"So what did you do?" Tifa asked, glancing through her tears in his direction. He didn't answer her, and so she looked away. "How am I ever going to look at them now?" Why must every time she thought she could be happy did something terribly cruel have to happen to her?

"That is up to you," Vincent told her. "You can either remain at a distance and watch, and just be happy for them. Or you can go to them, and tell them the truth, and just get it out in the open."

Tifa glanced at him and repeated her question. "What did you do?"

Vincent hesitated, obviously in great pain himself. He looked away from her, and for a moment he did not reply. But only for a moment.

"I went to her," he said softly. "And I told her I loved her, even though I knew I could never have her. And she told me the same. That she loved me. When she did, we realized we had been overheard. Her husband heard the entire conversation. And after that, things just went downhill until they were completely out of control.

"In my experience," he told her, finally looking back at her. "In this situation, you can either hold your misery close to you, or see to it that it is shared by others. For if you go to them and tell them the truth, they will either feel guilty, or they will pity you. But either way, they will feel pain as well. That is what happened to me. And so much more."

"More?" Tifa asked, her eyes filled with sorrow and pain, and also uncertainty. "What do you mean?"

"I'm responsible for all of this," he told her. "Everything that's happening... I am the one at fault. Because Hojo overheard Lucrecia say she loved me, he was heartbroken. And because Lucrecia wanted to fix that, she injected herself with Jenova cells, not knowing Jenova was a monster, and knowing that by doing so, she would effectively bind herself and her child to her husband. That child was Sephiroth."

Tifa was trembling, and she could not hold his gaze any more than he could hold hers. They sat side by side, but would not look at each other.

"Sephiroth grew up to be the murderer who destroyed your home," Vincent whispered. "Everything you have lost because of him, I am responsible for. I am responsible for Cloud... and I am responsible for you." He finally brought himself to look back at her. "I hope you can forgive me. And though I cannot predict the future, I hope the mistake I made is never repeated."

"I won't be the one," Tifa whispered, leaning forward as she tightly wrapped her arms over her stomach. She felt sick. Terribly sick. And it became impossible for her to prevent her tears from streaming down her face. "I won't! I hope they stay together. I hope they're happy."

As she said this, the gray Materia on her belt began to softly glow. Neither Vincent nor Tifa noticed.

OOOOOOO

The performance was over, but the date itself was far from it, Cloud was soon to realize. He and Aeris walked together hand in hand, closer than they had ever been before. There was something magical about it, and Cloud didn't wish for it to ever end. In Aeris's presence, he forgot about everything else. Their journey... ShinRa... the planet... Sephiroth... None of it mattered so long as he was close to her.

Suddenly, Aeris pointed towards a large Ferris Wheel. She glanced at Cloud excitedly. "Do you wanna go on it?"

"Yes," Cloud said, relieved. After all, on a Ferris Wheel, there would be no audience watching him, so he really had no excuse to refuse, even if he was capable of it.

"Great!" Aeris beamed as they ran to buy tickets and hop on before they missed the ride and had to wait for the next one.

They sat close together, side by side, and practically in each others' arms as the cart they were in lifted off the ground. And once they were in the air, they felt like they could see the entire world together. And there was nothing they couldn't do so long as they were as close as they were at that moment.

Aeris looked at Cloud, and suddenly realized that she had been seeing him for who he actually was for a long time now. She had even forgotten that he had _ever_ reminded her of Zack. It made her happy, and she smiled.

Cloud glanced at her curiously. "What?"

She glanced down. "I was just thinking about that other guy from SOLDIER."

Cloud frowned in disappointment. "Your first boyfriend?"

"Yeah," Aeris admitted, looking up at him sheepishly. "You used to really remind me of him. And not just because of your eyes or your rank. But the way you walked, the way you gestured... even the words you chose when you spoke."

Cloud looked away from her. This wasn't exactly what he had hoped they would talk about when they got on the Ferris Wheel. "Is that why-"

"No!" Aeris shook her head, reaching out to touch his face and gently urge him to look back at her. It might have been that way in the beginning, but not anymore. "Things are different now. _You're_ different."

Perhaps _more_ different than she had originally thought. She gazed into his eyes. He stared solemnly back at her, unblinking. And there was a part of him that he was hiding from her, without even realizing it. Hiding from everyone. Hiding even from himself. And that was the part she wanted to see. For that was the part that was truly him.

"I'm searching for you, Cloud," she told him softly, looking away. "I want to meet you."

Cloud frowned. "But I'm right here."

"I know, I know," she looked back at him pensively. "But what I mean is... I wanna meet... _you_." The real Cloud Strife, that no one else, not even himself, seemed able to see. And she knew he was there... beneath the surface.

Their conversation was abruptly interrupted. For as they sat suspended in the sky on that Ferris Wheel, the night was suddenly illuminated by fireworks. Colors exploded through the air, and Aeris happily turned to watch. But even then, with the brilliant sparklers decorating the sky and blocking out all other sound, Cloud could not look away from Aeris. Her face was aglow, and she looked absolutely radiant. He could have sat there like that, watching her watch the fireworks, for the rest of his life.

OOOOOOO

"I had fun tonight," Aeris said as they made their way back to the hotel, hand still in hand. She glanced up at him brightly. "We should go together again sometime. You liked being with me, didn't you?"

He glanced at her teasingly. "What makes you say that?"

She pouted. "You shouldn't tease like that, Cloud!"

He shook his head slightly, laughing. "Of course I like being with you, Aeris. I'd stay with you... always."

She beamed. "I'd really like that." She was about to say something else when something caught her eye. Turning to focus on it, she noticed a certain gigantic moogle being manipulated by a certain cat down a side alley. "Hey, look! It's Cait Sithe!"

Cloud followed her gaze and, sure enough, was able to locate their friend. It seemed rather odd... He frowned. "Where's he going?"

"I thought he said he was going to stay at the hotel all night," Aeris reminded the mercenary. "I don't understand."

"Come on," Cloud suggested, pulling Aeris towards the side alley Cait Sithe had disappeared down. "Let's find out."

They ran after the cat down the alley. Cait Sithe had been a good distance away from them, so it took them a little while to catch up. And when they did, they were so stunned by what they saw that they had no _idea_ how to react to it. For a moment, all they could do was stand completely motionless, and just stare in a shocked stupor.

For there was Cait Sithe standing beneath a helicopter. The copter's door was open, and a ladder had been extended down. Hanging onto that ladder near the ground was none other than the infamous leader of the Turks, Tseng himself. And Cait Sithe was handing him something! Something Cloud and Aeris both recognized even at a distance.

"That's the Keystone!" the Cetra proclaimed. "Hey!" She bolted towards the Turk, and Cloud hastened after her.

Tseng looked triumphantly at the cat perched on top of the moogle. "Well done." Without another word, the helicopter turned and flew off as Tseng climbed back up the ladder with the Keystone in his possession.

"Cait Sithe!" Aeris shouted as she and the mercenary drew close to him. The cat turned around and watched them come, his expression unnaturally impassive. Aeris felt her body shaking, and when Cloud stopped beside her, she reached out for his arm to hold for support. "What did you do?"

"I gave the Keystone to ShinRa," Cait Sithe replied rather bluntly. "Didn't you see?"

"But why would you?" Cloud asked, forcing his own expression to remain as coldly impassive as Cait Sithe's was. Not just for Aeris's sake, but also in slight competition with the cat for control over this strange, unexpected situation.

"Because I work for ShinRa," Cait Sithe said honestly. "There's no reason to keep it secret anymore. I obviously can't deny what you just witnessed."

"But I _trusted_ you!" Aeris found herself crying, tears stinging in her eyes. She could not remember ever in her life feeling as hurt as she did right now. Not even _once_. "You were my _friend_!"

Cait Sithe cocked his head at her in bafflement, wondering just how much friendship mattered to these people. Looking at Cloud, he could see, even if the mercenary was trying to hide it, the pure anger in his glowing eyes. And he knew what Cloud was thinking. How _dare_ he hurt Aeris?

Cait Sithe glanced back at the Cetra, almost appearing regretful. "I didn't ask to be your friend. It doesn't have to end, though. I can keep traveling with you if you like."

"Are you out of your mind?" Cloud demanded, shocked by the cat's audacity. "_Forget_ it!"

"Um," Cait Sithe glanced at the mercenary coolly. "No. 'Cause I rather like the idea. And just to warn you, you can't kill me. This isn't really my body. The cat's as much of a toy as the moogle is. My real body is at ShinRa Headquarters in Midgar. I'm controlling the toy from there."

Aeris felt like her entire world was spinning, and Cloud was disgusted. Not to mention pissed off.

"I'll still have a lot of fun tearing you pieces," he informed the cat furiously. Cait Sithe actually laughed.

"Now that would be a waste of effort," he told the mercenary. "There are _plenty_ more of these toys that I can send after you with no trouble at all. You won't be rid of me _that_ easily."

"So all this time..." Aeris slowly released Cloud and backed away from the toy. "Every time we talked... every time we joked and laughed... it didn't mean anything to you? You were just pretending so that we would trust you? So that you could tell your boss everything there is to know about us?" She thought she felt sick.

"Aeris..." Apparently not even a toy spy could resist the powers that the Cetra wielded so easily over others. He stared at her in sudden misery. "I only told them whatever you found out about Sephiroth. Everything else... you all had my absolute confidence."

"Like we can believe anyone from ShinRa," Cloud spat bitterly.

Cait Sithe glared at him defensively. "Did you have a problem with me before tonight? Not everyone from ShinRa is the same! Some of us aren't half bad! Look at Reno!"

"Reno hasn't lied to us," Cloud shot back. "If I didn't have a problem with you before, then all that proves is that you know how to act. It certainly doesn't prove you have any sense of decency."

"But I _want_ to!" Cait Sithe proclaimed. _That_ caught Cloud and Aeris off guard. They stared at him, uncomprehending, so the toy took the time to explain. "When I first set out with you, I _never_ thought I'd be so... curious, I guess you could say. It bothers me. How you live. How you handle everything that you find yourselves facing. I'll be honest with you now. My life hasn't exactly been fulfilling. But then I see you guys... The way you do things... You don't get paid. You don't get praised. Yet, you still risk your lives and continue on your journey. Seeing that makes me... It just makes me think about _my_ life, and how I want it to be. Because... being a part of Avalanche made me feel like I belonged somewhere more than being a part of ShinRa ever did."

"I'm sorry Cait Sithe..." Aeris frowned at that, and stared at the toy unhappily. "Is that even your name?"

"No," Cait Sithe shook his head and looked down as if in shame. "But it's the only one I can give you."

"And you still wonder why we can't trust you?" Cloud demanded resentfully. "I will not be used by ShinRa! And I won't let any of my _real_ friends be used by ShinRa either!"

"Even if what you say is true," Aeris added. "And you honestly do want to be a part of Avalanche, you can't as a toy. You'd have to come to us in your actual body. Otherwise, we'd have no _reason_ to trust you, because you wouldn't be trusting us."

Cait Sithe gazed at her disconsolately. "So that's the way it is, then...?"

"You can't come any farther with us," Cloud stated coldly. "And if I were you, I'd be glad you're just a stupid toy, because when Barret hears about this, he's gonna be pissed."

Cait Sithe turned towards Cloud angrily. "Barret isn't going to hear about this! You will tell no one, _especially_ Barret, and I will continue with you! Or else."

"Or else what?" Cloud demanded.

Cait Sithe didn't reply for a moment, but when that moment passed, a new voice sounded out through his mouth. "Papa? Tifa?"

"Marlene!" Aeris shouted when she recognized the sweet, innocent, childish voice that belonged to Barret's adopted daughter. Cait Sithe glanced at her in surprise.

"Flower lady?"

Another moment passed in which Cait Sithe did not move. When he finally did, it was the Cait Sithe they had been dealing with before Marlene's voice had taken over. And he was glaring at the stunned man and woman before him in complete misery. "I didn't want to do this. Dirty tricks and hostages... I really didn't. But that's how it is. No compromises."

"Was that really Marlene?" Aeris demanded as Cloud slowly backed away from the cat until he was once again standing beside the Cetra.

Cait Sithe nodded. "And she's not here alone. Your own adopted mother is in our care as well."

"You bastard," Cloud made to draw his sword, but Aeris quickly caught his arm, never in her life looking more frightened then she did right now.

"That's right," Cait Sithe nodded in approval. "You break this toy, I might just have to break something of Marlene's. And that's just how it's gonna be."

"Barret has a right to know," Cloud objected.

"You tell _any_ of them," Cait Sithe threatened coldly. "And then you can explain to Barret why he may end up with one less member of his family."

"You see?" Aeris demanded angrily. "That's not fair! You know all about us and how to manipulate us! And you say you wanna be _decent_?"

"Yeah, well," Cait Sithe crossed his arms. "I'm not saying it won't take some time for me to figure out. But don't worry. 'Cause at this rate we're gonna still be spending _a lot_ of time together. I will continue with you on your journey. If the rest of ShinRa can't stop you, then at least I can keep on eye on you. And the two of you won't tell anyone. If you do, there'll be hell to pay."

With that said, the cat urged the moogle forward. Cloud, as if fearing Cait Sithe might be trying to spread some poisonous contagion, grabbed Aeris and pulled her far out of the cat's path. He stopped at glanced at them, seemingly hurt by the gesture.

"Are you gonna be like that constantly from now on?" he asked, sounding regretful.

"What do you think?" Cloud demanded, holding Aeris close to him. Cait Sithe nodded sadly, and then started back down the alley towards the hotel.

"You guys should think about heading back," he suggested as he went. But then, it was more of a subtle command than a suggestion. "We've all got a long day's journey tomorrow, and you better be well rested and up for it."

"Whatever," Cloud retorted, but Cait Sithe had not stuck around to hear the comment. For the moment, the mercenary was once again alone with Aeris. And for the first time since he had known her, the Cetra began to cry.

Furious, all Cloud could do was hold her close to him, wishing he had some idea of how to fix this for her. But they were no where _near_ Midgar, and couldn't possibly plan out any kind of rescue without Cait Sithe realizing it. And so the two of them were trapped. They weren't even allowed to let their friends know what a traitorous spy Cait Sithe had turned out being. It was maddening. And Cloud was feeling increasingly helpless against it all.


	37. Mental Onslaught

**Chapter Thirty-Six: Mental Onslaught**

Cloud and Aeris did not return to the hotel that night. The thought of being anywhere _near_ Cait Sithe disgusted the mercenary, and Aeris was too hurt by the betrayal to object when Cloud carried her away from it. Instead, they spent the night outside the Gold Saucer, on the mountain, and only returned to the Ghost Hotel the next morning.

Cait Sithe was waiting for them in the lobby with the others. Barret, Tifa, Red Thirteen, Cid, and Vincent were in deep conversation with the cat as Yuffie went around between them all with a tray of what looked like muffins... but at the same time not...

The teenager turned towards Cloud and Aeris as they approached. She was smiling broadly. "Hey! Look what I made last night! You want some?"

"Sure," Aeris said, trying to smile, but finding it hard to do so when the smile wasn't necessarily sincere. Yuffie didn't seem to notice, and just grinned enthusiastically as the Cetra picked up one of the muffins. However, Vincent and Tifa noticed, and they both glanced at Aeris in surprise. What was _she_ upset about?

Yuffie turned towards Cloud and offered him one as well, but he shook his head.

"I'm not hungry," he said coldly, and pointedly walked to the other side of the group, away from Cait Sithe. Aeris, who was still holding his hand tightly, went with him. Cait Sithe watched them go, and his tail flicked sharply back and forth.

"Hey, Cloud!" Barret suddenly looked away from Cid, who he had been speaking with before then, and glanced at the mercenary. "Cait Sithe told us all some 'tin that might interest you."

"Really?" Cloud asked, not at all surprised. He glared venomously at the cat. "Wonder what _that_ could have been." The cat's eyes narrowed at the mercenary, and his message was clear. _Watch it!_

"He overheard a couple Turks talking down here in this _very lobby_," Barret went on, trying to sound important. "Apparently, ShinRa's been to the Temple. It's on one of those isles east 'o here. We can rent a boat or some 'tin somewhere, and find it real easy!"

"Well that's convenient," Aeris observed.

"What side of the fucking bed did you two wake up on?" Cid demanded, crossing his arms towards them in annoyance. He had never _seen_ the mercenary or the Cetra so crabby before.

His words, however, caused Tifa to flinch, and she glanced away. Vincent noticed, and glared at Cid irritably, though the captain was not even looking at him. All in the all, the atmosphere that morning was a rather tense one.

Even Yuffie could feel it now, and she stared around at her friends unhappily. Up to this point, she reflected, they had all been so close. And now... Cait Sithe was standing by himself, Cloud and Aeris were standing by their selves, Vincent was set apart with Tifa, Barret, Cid, and Red Thirteen were off together, and she herself was standing in the middle of it awkwardly holding a tray of muffins. Being so separated like this... after everything they had been through together, felt wrong and rather discouraging. Yuffie resented it.

"Hey, come on you guys!" she objected loudly. "What's the bad mood for? We have the Keystone, don't we? We're one up on everyone else _and_ we know where to start looking for the Temple of the Ancients! Why don't we all just lighten up a little bit?"

"Sorry, Yuffie," Cloud replied with soft severity. He glared at Cait Sithe. "But the thought of going after Sephiroth again doesn't make me _want_ to lighten up." He had had practice acting the night before during that 'fun' little performance, and now he realized the skill was coming in handy.

Yuffie nodded understandingly. "So that's why everyone's so off this morning. Don't worry, you guys! We may be chasing after a psychotic murderer and everything, but this time around, _we_ have the advantage."

"I hope so," Aeris contributed softly. "I hope we can make it there in time."

OOOOOOO

Despite Yuffie's best efforts, the ensuing journey towards the ocean to the east was _hardly_ as carefree as their journey to the Gold Saucer from Wutai had been. A shadow seemed to be hanging over the group, and _especially_ over Cloud, Aeris, Cait Sithe, and Tifa – though _her_ reasons for being miserable were different from the former three's. And unfortunately for them, the road ahead would not make it any easier for them to bear.

In time they reached Costa del Sol, and from there they rented a boat so that they might explore all the tiny isles that made up a small chain in that particular region. Most of those isles were too small to be of any use to men. Not a single one was greater than five miles in diameter. Most were blanketed with trees... but those trees were not suitable resources, for they appeared, even as they grew from the soil, to be rotted and in the process of decaying. And so they were ignored by ShinRa, and left alone.

However, there was one particular isle that seemed to appeal to Cait Sithe, for whatever reason. It was one of the larger ones, approximately four miles in diameter, they would know, were they to actually go through the trouble of measuring it out. It, as the others were, was covered in trees, and there didn't seem to be anything special about it, or unique, or even interesting.

But since they had no other leads to go by, and thus were left with no other choice but to search the islands one by one, no one seemed to have a problem with starting out on an island of Cait Sithe's choice. That was, other than Cloud and Aeris. They both knew the little traitor probably knew _exactly_ where the Temple was, and if they were to find it on this island at any moment, they would not have been surprised.

And as they might have guessed, as they made their way from the coast and farther inland, they could see that much of whatever overgrown grass and weeds there was on the island had been disrupted. People had walked through here, for the trail they had left behind through the wild lawn was clear right before them. Even further evidence could be found up ahead where the forest began. Because it was so dense, several trees and shrubs had either been bent, broken, or completely cut apart and cast aside in order to allow a troop room to get through. And judging from this incredibly evident trail that had been left behind, it was clear that whoever had gone before cared little about whoever might be following from behind. In any case, though this sudden show of events did not particularly surprise Cloud, Aeris, or Cait Sithe, the rest of the group seemed impressed.

"This trail might have been left behind by the Turks," Vincent observed, glancing at Cait Sithe. "You picked a good island to start with."

"It's my keen fortune telling skills," the cat replied haughtily, doing his best not to look at the mercenary or the Cetra. Nevertheless, he could still sense them glaring at him resentfully. And _that_ was rather hard to ignore.

"The Temple can't be that far now!" Yuffie declared enthusiastically, still hoping to lighten her friends' moods. "The Turks can't get in without the Keystone and, personally, I can't wait to see their faces!"

"Don't get too excited, Yuffie," Tifa cautioned. "The Turks could very well be the least of our problems, depending on what we find there."

"Let's go," Aeris suggested. "I would like to see the Temple." She started forward with Cloud beside her. Cait Sithe hobbled along after them, and the rest soon followed.

OOOOOOO

The Temple of the Ancients was not at all what they had expected. For one, it wasn't that big. Though that did make sense, for if it were too large, it would be too easy for someone to see and find. Still, it was at least two stories tall, and shaped like a pyramid. It was on the outer side completely black, with no engravings or hieroglyphics of any kind. As for the substance it was built out of... it looked strangely like the Mako fountain of the Nibelheim caves back at Cloud and Tifa's home.

Built as it was in the middle of an island's forest – a forest that had slightly begun to remind them of a jungle – it certainly did _look_ the part of an ancient temple filled with mystery and magic, possibly also with booby traps and hidden passages and such. It seemed to emanate with intrigue and power. When the members of Avalanche first broke through the trees and into a partial clearing before it, they were all momentarily stunned by its mere presence and magnificence.

Aeris was the first to overcome her shocked stupor. She slowly began to walk towards it in fascination. "This... This is the Temple of the Ancients. I know." As she approached the Temple, she could feel more clearly than ever before the presence of the planet they lived on. "I feel it... The knowledge of the Ancients... floating..." Flowing throughout the walls of the Temple. She paused and appeared to address the building itself, as if the Temple could transfer her message directly to the spirits dwelling inside, which, in her mind, it probably could. "You could become one with the planet, but you're not. You won't let it happen. Why? For the future? For us?" _Are we worthy of the planet's sacrifice? Of your sacrifice? Does mankind deserve that?_

Cloud and the others slowly approached the Cetra. Whatever else that might have been on their minds up until that point vanished, as their wonder and curiosity, not to mention the very weight that this discovery was bearing down on them, grew sufficient enough for them to forget about anything else that might have been distracting them before.

Even the knowledge that ShinRa was watching their every move through the eyes of Cait Sithe seemed unimportant to Cloud as he stepped towards Aeris. "What are you saying? Do you understand?"

"I can barely hear," Aeris said softly as Cloud stopped beside her. She reached for his hand and continued to listen and to wonder. "It's uneasy... but happy." She looked back at the Temple. "Because I'm here...?" _But something else is here too... And that worries you... _She turned towards Cloud. "I have to get inside." She started running towards the Temple, as if she were drawn to it, and could no longer bear to resist its pull.

Cloud glanced back at the rest of his friends. He had no idea what to expect inside the Temple, and it might be dangerous for such a large group to attempt entering together. "Stay here and see if you can find some cover. Cait Sithe," he glanced towards the little traitor. "You come with us."

Barret, Cid, and Yuffie all looked ready to object, but they didn't when they sensed how serious Cloud was about this, and could recognize the unquestioning concurrence on Tifa, Vincent, and Red Thirteen's parts. They headed back towards the tree line as Cait Sithe followed Cloud, who had started after Aeris.

"That was good thinking!" Cait Sithe told Cloud as they covered the distance. "I was wondering how to explain the whole Keystone problem to them! Well done."

"Shut up," Cloud snapped back resentfully. "I didn't do that to cover up your stupidity."

"Well, you don't have to be so mean about it," Cait Sithe grumbled. When they caught up with Aeris, she was standing before a tall archway that led into a deeper chamber. The ShinRa had already been here... and they had used the Keystone open the Temple. All Cloud, Aeris, and Cait Sithe could do now was follow.

Aeris glanced over her shoulder and saw that only two had followed her. She frowned. "Where are the others?"

"They're going to wait," the mercenary explained. "If something goes wrong in here, they can back us up."

Aeris nodded. "Well. That's a relief." She looked back into the Temple. And as much as she wanted to go inside, as much as she was _compelled_ to go inside, she still hesitated. All her life... the Cetra had been a mystery to her. And though, when she had started out with Avalanche so long ago, she had wanted to find out what it meant to be an Ancient, and to finally find answers to all her questions, now that she was so close to finally doing so, she was afraid. There were too many 'what ifs'. What if the Cetra weren't really what she had expected? What if she didn't like the truth? The Cetra supposedly protected the planet... What if she, as the last one in survival, couldn't carry the responsibility? That last question was the one that frightened her the most. What if she failed?

"Aeris?" Cait Sithe prompted. "I thought you wanted to go inside?"

"Leave her alone," Cloud stood protectively between the cat and the Cetra. "There's no reason _you_ should be impatient."

"I'm not!" Cait Sithe replied defensively. "I'm just..." Here, he sounded slightly nervous. "I gotta bad feeling..."

Cloud considered that for a moment, but then... he couldn't help but agree. He looked back at Aeris.

"I'm ready now," she said, taking a slow, deep breath. She started into the Temple.

The chamber they found themselves in was not that large and had a low ceiling. It was not dark at all, but illuminated by several orbs that were amber in color and built into the walls. They all looked like Materia. If Yuffie could have seen it, Cloud thought to himself, she probably would have gone wild.

But only to be immediately subdued by the sight of whom they found lying on the floor on the other side of the room.

"It's Tseng!" Aeris cried, immediately running forward as Cloud and Cait Sithe stopped short in surprise. The leader of the Turks was lying still in a large puddle of his own blood. As Aeris fell to her knees beside him, she realized he was still alive, but barely conscious. Whoever did this to him must have done so recently. _Very_ recently.

"Aeris..." Tseng gazed up at her fondly as she gently brought him onto her lap. "Your face... is a good one... to see right now..." Aeris felt tears sting in her eyes. He was dying. That much was obvious to her.

"Who did this to you?" Aeris asked him as her body started to tremble.

"...Sephiroth..." Tseng whispered. Cloud and Cait Sithe had to walk closer to them to hear. "He's... inside..."

Sephiroth was inside. He was the one who had done this to the Turk. Cloud felt his head spin as a weight formed heavily in his stomach. Sephiroth was near... He _had_ to find him!

"It's not... the Promised Land... Sephiroth's... searching for..." Tseng told them. His eyes focused on the Cetra. "Aeris... Forgive me..."

"The Promised Land isn't like what you think," Aeris told him regretfully. "It was never meant for ShinRa. You guys never had a chance..."

"Right," Tseng actually tried to laugh, but it was a sorrowful one, filled with anguish. "The President... was wrong... I'd have been... on your side..." He glanced away from her then, his eyes starting to glaze over. "El... Elena..." He stopped breathing.

Aeris felt tears silently falling down her face as Cloud brought her gently to her feet and held her in his arms comfortingly. Cait Sithe was watching with a frown.

"I don't get you two," he complained rather loudly.

"Can't you be quiet for even a minute?" Cloud asked, biting back his anger for Aeris's sake.

"He was your _enemy_!" the cat harshly pointed out. "What makes him so different from me?"

"I've known Tseng since I was a little girl," Aeris said softly. "He might have been a Turk, but he really knew me."

"I know you!" Cait Sithe proclaimed.

"But I _don't_ know you," Aeris replied. "Everything you know about me you know through lies. Tseng... at least he was honest." She looked up at Cloud forlornly. "I'll miss him." She hadn't been able to protect Tseng. Was she failing already?

Cloud, who had no idea how to comfort her after something like this, just brought her closer to him and held her protectively. He just wished he could shield her from all that was happening. He wished he could just close her eyes and take away all her pain.

As Aeris struggled to overcome this grief, something else entered the chamber with them. Startled, she pulled away from Cloud and whirled around. What was it? Where was it? It seemed to have come from no where. And it felt so sad!

"Aeris?" Cloud asked in concern. "What's wrong?"

"There's a consciousness in here!" Aeris told him frantically as it flowed towards her with gentle warmth. She could hear it speaking to her. "It's a living soul! Full of knowledge!" She shook her head, backing up to be close to Cloud. "I don't understand!"

So its whisperings grew louder and clearer for her. It was not a voice... but the words were there nevertheless. Aeris had felt it before... but never with such intensity.

"There's danger... evil..." Aeris could feel its concern. It was concerned for her... She knew she needed to know why, but when she asked, her voice shook in fear. "Show us..."

There was a brilliant flash.

"Aeris!" Cait Sithe shouted in surprise.

"What's going on?" Cloud demanded.

So they would see it, too. The thought comforted the Cetra. "It's okay. We're just being shown."

_A moment later they could see again, and they were still standing in the same chamber. But the room was different somehow. At once bathed with light and filled with shadows. It was like a dream._

_Tseng and Elena were both in the room together, gazing around in complete wonder._

_"Will this Temple show us the way to the Promised Land?" Elena asked, looking at Tseng with an expression that clearly meant she didn't care, so long as she was with the Turk beside her._

_"Maybe," Tseng shrugged. "Keystone worked well enough. We need to report this to the President." He glanced at her. "Could you?"_

_Elena's face fell, but she immediately nodded. "Of course. I'll be back in a few minutes. Will you wait for me before heading farther in?"_

_"Sure thing," Tseng nodded and watched as the woman started out of the Temple. But then he nodded to himself, as if he had come to some decision. "Elena."_

_She glanced over her shoulder at him. "Yes?"_

_He smiled softly, his expression entirely nonchalant. "How 'bout dinner after this job's over?"_

_Elena's face instantly blossomed into a flower of pure delight. "Yes... Th... Thank you!"_

_"Yeah, yeah," he waved a hand at her, rather fondly. "Get going. Job won't be over for awhile." Elena nodded and scooted out of the Temple, feeling happier than she had in a long time._

_Tseng turned in a slow circle, staring at the Temple walls in wonder as he waited for his girl to return. He still wasn't sure what to make of this place._

_"So you opened the door."_

_Tseng spun around in alarm, and immediately caught sight of the owner of the unexpected voice. Sephiroth was standing in the Temple's threshold, his head slightly lowered, but his eyes peering over towards Tseng with predatory cruelty._

_"Well done."_

_"Sephiroth!" Tseng started to back away, fear filling his expression._

_The warrior strode purposefully into the Temple, and it was all the Turk could do to get out of the man's way. Sephiroth paused, and glanced towards him. "You aren't who I expected to have the Keystone."_

_Tseng blinked. And then he stared at Sephiroth in curiosity. "You knew about the Keystone...? Were you just waiting for someone else to open the Temple doors for you?" _

_Sephiroth merely smiled and did not reply._

_"I don't understand," Tseng said. "What is this place?"_

_"A lost treasure house of knowledge," Sephiroth replied softly, finally lifting his head to gaze up at the walls around him. "The wisdom of the Ancients is written somewhere inside." He looked back at Tseng. "I am becoming one with the planet."_

_"One with the planet?" Tseng was only growing more confused._

_"Stupid fool," Sephiroth sounded amused. "You have never even thought about it. All the Spirit Energy of this planet. All its wisdom... knowledge... I will meld with it all. I will become one with it. It will become one with me."_

_"You can do that?" Tseng asked in surprise._

_"The way lies here," Sephiroth said calmly. And then, with both speed and grace, he drew his Masamune. And Tseng found himself impaled upon the blade before he even knew what was happening._

_The Turk gasped, his eyes widening in pain and shock._

_"Only death awaits you all," Sephiroth told him gently, almost kindly. "But do not fear. For it is through death that a new Spirit Energy is born. Soon, you will live on again as a part of me." He pulled the Masamune free and Tseng collapsed onto the floor. Sephiroth looked down at him with a sick, twisted smirk. "When he comes, you will show him." He turned and headed deeper into the Temple._

There was another brilliant flash, and suddenly Cloud, Aeris, and Cait Sithe were pulled out of the strange illusion.

Aeris was visibly shaken, and Cloud found himself holding her upright. But even as he supported the Cetra, he himself found it difficult to breathe after what he had seen. Cait Sithe looked petrified, trembling as he clung to his moogle.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Sephiroth really _is_ here," Aeris whispered. The presence in the room with them had come to warn them. _He was close._

"This has to end," Cloud was shaking his head, his heart pounding. "I just want this to _stop_!"

"We have to make it stop," Aeris agreed, suddenly pulling away from the mercenary and running deeper into the Temple. For there was another arch that led into a darker corridor, and it was through there that Sephiroth had gone.

"Aeris!" Cloud shouted in alarm. He bolted after her, terrified that her decision was a rather rash one and that she would be running headfirst into danger.

But Aeris couldn't think about that. The Temple was alive with the presence of her people. And not just the Cetra. But the very planet itself. It was afraid. It was afraid of Sephiroth, and though that terrified her, it also compelled her to action. She had to take away their fear. She had to protect them at all cost, no matter how scared it made her.

So she ran down a corridor that seemed to stretch for miles. The Materia that had lit the first chamber did not extend into this corridor, but the walls themselves seemed to periodically brighten before once more growing dim. It was like running through a cycle of light and dark... And Aeris could hardly see through her tears.

What realm had she crossed into? What secrets hid from her here? And why did she feel so alone even though Cloud and Cait Sithe were right behind her?

Suddenly she burst into a new chamber. This one was larger than the rest, and filled with amber light. Several pillars reached for the ceiling, and they were all decorated with pictographs and hieroglyphics, as were the other four walls. There were shadows in this room. Filled with hidden mysteries Aeris longed to decipher.

"Aeris!" Cloud appeared in the room behind her, with Cait Sithe on his heels. But they both stopped short and silent when they saw the room they were in.

"He's here," Aeris whispered, her face unnaturally pale. Cloud stepped up beside her.

"Sephiroth!" he shouted. "Where are you?"

"So cold," the warrior walked out from the shadows behind a pillar. He stared directly at Cloud, which caused the mercenary's heart to beat up wildly in his throat even as he grew slightly dizzy. Sephiroth watched him calmly. "But I am always at your side."

Cloud felt his body tremble as he stared at the warrior uncertainly.

"Come," Sephiroth extended a hand towards the boy. But then he used the same arm to gesture to the walls and pillars of the chamber. "Look. A treasure house of knowledge."

"I don't understand," Cloud's arms felt heavy. He could barely move them at all.

"Look well," Sephiroth suggested.

"At _what_?" Cloud asked in frustrated exasperation.

"At that which adds to the knowledge of..." Sephiroth suddenly stopped, and his expression turned thoughtful. "I will become one with the planet." His eyes never left Cloud. "Soon, we will become one."

Cloud wanted nothing more than to back away from him. But... he couldn't bring himself to leave Aeris's side. He couldn't leave her unprotected. But the struggle against his own instinct weighed heavily against him. It well nearly hurt.

"How do you intend to become one with the planet?" Aeris was demanding, fighting to keep her voice from trembling.

"It's simple," Sephiroth replied, but even then, he did not look away from Cloud. "Once the planet is hurt, it gathers Spirit Energy to heal the wound. The amount of energy gathered depends on the size of the wound. Now what would happen if there was a wound that threatened the very life of the planet? Think of how much energy would be gathered!" Sephiroth smiled cruelly. "At the center of that wound would be me. And all that boundless energy would be mine. And by merging with all the energy of the planet, I will become a new life form. A new existence. Melding with the planet, I will cease to exist as I am now. Only to be reborn as a _God_ to rule over every soul!"

"That's ambitious," Cait Sithe noted sourly. In any case, in the cat's opinion, it was a _lot_ more ambitious than anything ShinRa could _ever_ think up.

Aeris was shaking. "A wound powerful enough to destroy the planet? You would do that?"

Sephiroth glanced at her quickly then, to take her in, and then turned towards the wall to their right. They followed his gaze and could see the image of a terrible, terrifying disaster. It was the world that they recognized... But there was something in the sky that fell towards the planet. There seemed to be fire raining down, and devastation existed everywhere. And Cloud, upon seeing it, had a frightening premonition of that happening on their own world. It grew even harder to breathe.

"The ultimate destructive magic," Sephiroth observed. "Meteor."

"No!" Cloud shouted. "That will _never_ happen!"

For a moment, no one moved. Cloud's outburst had caught them by surprise, and only a few seconds later did Sephiroth turn and look back at the boy with narrowed, angry eyes.

_"Wake up!"_ The voice Cloud had heard so often in his dreams suddenly spoke to him now, and a moment later his mind felt like it had exploded. Cloud shouted in pain as he collapsed to his hands and knees.

Aeris spun towards him in horror. "Cloud!" She knelt down beside him in concern. "Cloud, what's wrong?"

Sephiroth started towards them in a purposeful stride. Aeris looked up at him in fear and Cait Sithe frantically urged his moogle far to their left, away from Cloud, away from Sephiroth, and away from that disturbing mural.

But Sephiroth, once again, seemed uninterested in hurting them. Aeris cringed as he walked past them, having never before been so close to him. Had he wanted to, he could have leaned down and touched her.

But he didn't. He headed back towards the corridor that would lead to the Temple's front chamber. He paused in the threshold long enough to glance back towards Cloud, who was in a huddled pile on the floor beside Aeris. His head was burning, as if on fire, but he could still hear Sephiroth's final words.

"See if you can find it."

Then he was gone, walking away from them in that same meaningful stride.

Cloud's world seemed to be spinning, and he could not hold on. In the distance, far away from where he was now, he heard himself laughing.

"Cloud..." Aeris's voice... was echoing... she sounded like she was part of a dream he could not hold onto. She was fading quickly. "Cloud... what's wrong...?"

"Black Materia..." Cloud heard his voice, but he was not the one who had spoken. He laughed again. "Call Meteor!"

"Cloud!" Aeris had tears in her eyes again as she gazed at the man she loved. His body was shaking. His eyes were glowing brighter than she had ever seen before. It terrified her. "Cloud, stop it! Please!" She pressed against him, wrapping her arms around his neck. His body felt hard and cold and devoid of life. She was crying. "Don't do this..."

"Aeris..." Cloud's eyes fluttered then, and their shine grew dim as whatever effect Sephiroth had had on him diminished. His body softened, and he turned towards her so that he might better hold her. "What happened?"

"Ssh," Aeris's body shook, but it was out of relief now. He was back to normal. That was all that mattered. She wanted to forget that it had ever been any different at all. "It's all right, Cloud. Don't worry about it." She looked past him and towards Cait Sithe. The expression in her eyes clearly told the cat to let it go.

So instead of questioning the mercenary, the cat looked back up at the mural. "So that's supposed to be Meteor?"

Cloud and Aeris pulled apart and turned towards the great wall that Sephiroth had pointed out to them. They did not stand up quite yet, though, for their bodies felt too tired. Aeris nodded.

"It must be some kind of magic," she said. "Sephiroth said that it was the ultimate destructive magic, Meteor." She listened to the spirits within the Temple for a moment before she understood. "It finds small drifting planets with its magic, like this one. And it collides with them. This planet might get wiped out entirely."

"But I thought magic could only be used through Materia," Cait Sithe reminded them.

"That's right," Cloud nodded. "The Black Materia. We have to find it first." But then, the mercenary frowned thoughtfully. That was exactly what Sephiroth wanted them to do. Cloud remembered what the warrior had said when leaving the chamber just a few moments ago. _"See if you can find it."_

But the mercenary pushed that concern to the back of his mind. They had no choice _but_ to find it. He glanced at Aeris. "It should be here somewhere."

"What makes you say that?" Cait Sithe demanded.

"I don't know," Cloud said softly. "It's just a feeling."

"Not much to go by if you ask me," the cat replied, unconvinced. But Aeris was.

"I think I can feel it, too," she said. She stood and walked to the other side of the chamber. Cloud and Cait Sithe slowly followed her. They came to the far wall, and there they found themselves standing before a small pedestal on which several long, prism-shaped crystals were positioned in several slots. There seemed to be a pattern to it, but the pattern was out of order.

"What is it?" Cloud asked.

Aeris closed her eyes thoughtfully, and the presence in the chamber swept over her, giving her the answer. "It's a puzzle. When solved, this Temple will shrink until it's small enough to fit into your very palm."

"But why would someone want a portable Temple?" Cait Sithe asked, obviously confused.

"Because the Temple of the Ancients is in fact the Black Materia," Aeris told them. Cloud and Cait Sithe glanced at her in surprise, and she nodded. "The only problem is, the Cetra didn't want this magic to be wielded so easily. Whoever stays in the Temple long enough to solve this puzzle won't have time to get back out. The Temple will shrink with them inside, and they'll be crushed to death."

"There has to be some way," Cloud shook his head. "Sephiroth has any number of people in those black capes from Nibelheim who would willingly sacrifice themselves for him. We can't wait around for that to happen. We need to get this Materia for ourselves now to keep it away from him!"

Cait Sithe perked right up. "I'll do it!"

Cloud and Aeris both glanced at the cat, blinking in uncomprehending surprise. "What?"

The toy shrugged. "I told you before, my real body is all the way in Midgar. Nothing'll happen to me. You guys get the Materia, and no one has to get hurt! It's a real deal, if ya ask me!"

"We aren't gonna help ShinRa," Cloud objected, but Cait Sithe just laughed at that.

"Are you kidding me?" he demanded. "This has nothing to do with helping ShinRa. In any case, we'd rather see the Black Materia in your hands than in Sephiroth's."

Cloud glanced at Aeris, and she nodded. They both looked back at the toy in consent.

"Good," Cait Sithe glanced back at the pedestal. "Now. How do I solve this?"

"Just line them up," Aeris replied. "The tallest next to the shortest, the tallest one after that on the shortest one's other side, and the shortest one after that on the other side of _that_ one."

"And so on and so forth," Cait Sithe nodded. "All right. I can handle that. Now that that's taken care of, the two of you need to get outta here!"

"All right," Cloud reached for Aeris's hand. "Don't screw up." He made to leave, but Cait Sithe jumped after them.

"Wait a sec'!"

"What?" Cloud practically groaned, turning back towards the cat impatiently.

Cait Sithe glanced at him sheepishly. "I just... I feel like I owe you guys. I didn't want things to get this far out of hand."

"Thank you, Cait Sithe," Aeris said gently. "You do this for us now. And we're very grateful."

"But it's not enough..." Cait Sithe whined. But then, an idea struck, and he pulled out his little deck of fortune-telling cards. "I got the perfect idea! Let me read your future!"

Cloud rolled his eyes, but Aeris just smiled with a nod. "Okay."

Cait Sithe pulled a card out from his deck and looked down at it. "Hey." He smiled. "It looks good. You two are perfect for each other. Aeris's star is Cloud's star. They show an amazing future." He glanced up at them warmly. "Thank you for trusting me with this. I might have been a ShinRa spy, but right now, I just wanna be a part of Avalanche. I wanna be remembered like this, and not like how I was that night at the Gold Saucer."

"Goodbye, Cait Sithe," Cloud whispered, tightening his grasp on Aeris's hand. With that said, he turned with the Cetra and the two of them raced out towards the Temple's entrance. Cait Sithe watched them go as he waited for them to get a decent head start. Then he turned towards the pedestal.

"This feels right," he told himself. "Aeris looked happy again. That just makes this all right." Screw ShinRa. He wanted to protect the planet too! It made _him_ happy, like nothing else in the world ever had before. And that made this right. He got to work on the puzzle.

OOOOOOO

"Cloud!" Tifa shouted as she, Barret, Red Thirteen, Yuffie, Vincent, and Cid raced out of the trees towards the Temple. The Temple was at that moment sinking towards the ground loudly like resounding thunder. Instinct told them they should be running in the opposite direction, but all Tifa could think about was being with the mercenary again.

Presently, he and Aeris were bolting towards them, away from the Temple, hand in hand. Cait Sithe was not with them.

"Wha' the _fuck_ is going on?" Cid demanded as the group came to a quick halt next to Cloud and Aeris.

"Long story," Cloud replied, glancing towards the tree line nervously, as if he expected someone else to be there.

"The Temple _is_ the Black Materia!" Aeris quickly informed them. "Cait Sithe's still inside! And he isn't coming out!"

"_What_?" Yuffie practically squealed. "No way!" She made to run towards the Temple, but Barret quickly caught her by her waist and held her back.

"It needed to be done," Cloud said, sounding sorrowful. "Or else Sephiroth would get the Materia for himself! And he'd use it to summon powerful magic known as Meteor that would destroy the planet!"

"Damn," Barret cursed.

By that point, the Temple of the Ancients had disappeared entirely from sight. The group all turned towards it, and a moment later, they were running to where its foundation had once lay. In its place, they found a tiny, palm-sized, sphere-shaped, Black Materia. Cloud bent down to pick it up.

For a moment, everything was silent. Terribly, eerily silent. It was _beyond_ disconcerting. The small group of friends felt like they were the only ones left standing on a planet that might as well already have been victim to Meteor.

Yuffie glanced nervously at the others. "Now what?"

"There's nothing," Aeris said softly. Cautiously. "As long as we have the Black Materia, Sephiroth can't summon Meteor. The planet's safe."

"Can it be used at all?" Cloud asked, glancing at her.

"Not now," Aeris shook her head. "You need great spiritual power to use this Materia. Because it's so strong, one person's power alone won't be able to do anything with it. They'd have to be somewhere special. Somewhere where there's plenty of the planet's energy."

"The Promised Land," Cloud guessed. It was all beginning to fit now. Sephiroth had been looking for the Temple of the Ancients to find the Black Materia so that he could use it to summon Meteor. When Meteor collided with the planet, he would then become one with it to rule it like a God. But in order for him to use the Black Materia, he needed to be at the Promised Land.

"But Sephiroth is not an Ancient," Vincent reminded them. "He shouldn't be able to find the Promised Land."

"But I have."

Startled, the group whirled around in surprise to see Sephiroth standing only a few yards away. He was watching them impassively. Thoughtfully. But in his eyes, they could all see an unlimited amount of cruelty.

None of them could move. They all felt frozen under his gaze. Caught like rabbits. But he was worse than any predatory wolf.

"I am far superior to any of the Ancients," Sephiroth informed them. "I became a traveler of the Lifestream, and have gained the knowledge and the wisdom of the Ancients. Soon, I will create the future."

"No!" Aeris came out of her trance before the others, and ran slightly towards him, biting back her fear as her desire to protect the planet, her natural instinct as a Cetra to defend it, overcame everything else inside her heart. "I won't let you! The future is not only yours!"

"I wonder," Sephiroth said softly, staring at Aeris for a moment. But then his gaze shifted towards Cloud once again. "Wake up."

Two softly spoken words caused Cloud's mind to explode once more. A brilliant light flashed before his eyes, and his heart felt like it had stopped beating. He cried out in pain.

"No!" Aeris spun around towards the mercenary in alarm. "Cloud!"

"What are you doing to him?" Tifa demanded in horror. She looked from Cloud to Sephiroth, and tears of panic filled her eyes. "Stop it!"

Sephiroth ignored her, his attention focused calmly and patiently on Cloud. There was a cruel look of approval in his expression.

_"Go to him."_ It was the voice Cloud heard in his dreams. He fell to his knees, clutching his head in pain.

"No," he whispered.

"Sephiroth!" Tifa shouted. "Stop it!" She made to lunge towards him, but Vincent quickly caught her round her waist and held her back. No one else moved, too great was their horror.

"There, Cloud," Sephiroth said gently, watching his every move.

_"Go to him!" _The voice inside Cloud's mind insisted. The boy felt his body lift off the ground on its own accord. He fought against it as best he could, but it was no use. Slowly, but without pause, he felt himself stumbling towards Sephiroth. And no one stopped him.

Sephiroth was smiling slightly in triumph as Cloud fell to the ground at his feet. He dropped the Black Materia he had been holding so tightly a moment before.

Sephiroth nodded once, bending down to claim the Materia for himself. He stood back up and stared down at the mercenary who was practically bowing before him. He looked very pleased. "Good boy."

Tears were streaming down Tifa's face as Vincent held her back from Cloud. All the others... Aeris, Barret, Red Thirteen, Yuffie, Cid... all they could do was watch in stunned amazement. _What just happened?_

Sephiroth gave Cloud one final appraising look before he turned and calmly walked back towards the forest away from them. He did not stop once, and no one in Avalanche could even _attempt_ to get in his way.

Cloud's body was shaking violently. He couldn't think at all. He couldn't even see straight. And the next thing he knew, he was laying face-first on the ground. Darkness laid claim to him then, and the last thing he remembered before he fainted was Aeris calling his name.


	38. Aeris's Theme, Part One

**Chapter Thirty-Seven: Aeris's Theme, Part One**

_Everything was white. He glanced around, trying to see past the brilliance, but finding himself lacking the ability. So he gave into it, and rested miserably in the lustrous white void._

_What had happened to him? He had given in to Sephiroth? His body, floating as it was in the nothingness, began to twirl slowly. It was warm here. There was something comforting about being trapped here, where he didn't have to face his friends. For that was the last thing he wanted. How could he ever look at them again? He had given in to his worst enemy. He had handed Sephiroth the means to destroy the planet. How had he been so weak?_

_No, he thought unhappily. If all of this was a dream, he hoped he never woke._

_Slowly, after an immeasurable amount of time had passed, the void he had found himself in began to change. The brilliance dimmed, and at long last Cloud could actually see shapes around him. Those shapes intensified until he could clearly make them out. He found himself standing in a forest._

_It was unlike any other forest he had ever seen. There were no leaves on the trees. There were no leaves or twigs on the forest floor. Only dead brown grass grew there, and the trees, which were all spaced equidistantly, were like those on the isles. Half alive, and half dead. But here there was something much more mystical about the place. There was thin mist through the woods, giving an eerie characteristic to the forest that those on the islands did not possess._

_Cloud stood in the middle of it all, uncertain, and feeling lost. Where was he? What was he doing here?_

_"Cloud...!"_

_He spun around. The voice was echoing around him, but it was a voice he would have recognized anywhere. "Aeris?" He couldn't see her. He wanted to see her so terribly! Where was she?_

_"Cloud," she seemed to be speaking to him from every direction. And though he looked for her, he felt helpless because he could not see. But maybe he wasn't meant to. For she asked: "Can you hear me?"_

_"Yeah," he said, resigning himself to her voice. "I can hear you." And then he could feel tears in his eyes. She didn't sound angry. But he had betrayed her. "Aeris... I am so sorry."_

_"Don't worry about it," she said, and he could hear laughter in her voice. She wasn't angry. She didn't even seem bitter. And though, she was far from happy with the thought of Sephiroth possessing the Black Materia, she wasn't blaming anyone for it. Cloud, least of all._

_But whether she blamed him or not, he blamed himself. "I can't stop worrying about it."_

_"Oh," her voice was, even then, upbeat. "Then worry about it, Cloud. Really worry about it. That way, I can be the one taking care of you. I'm with you Cloud, so don't have a breakdown, okay?"_

_"I wanna see you," he told her. There was a small burst of light to his left, and when he looked towards it, he could see Aeris taking shape. She looked more beautiful than she had ever before, and her eyes were glowing with her own, inner light._

_"I'm not afraid anymore," she said, walking up to him and warmly caressing his face with one of her gentle, beautiful hands. "I figured it out. I know now. There aren't any questions in my mind."_

_"I don't understand," he whispered, seeing a strength in her that was new, and stunning. "What is this place?"_

_"This forest leads to the City of the Ancients," she told him with a strange confidence. "It is called the Sleeping Forest._

_"It will only be a matter of time before Sephiroth uses Meteor," Aeris continued. "That's why I'm going to protect it. Only a survivor of the Cetra, like myself, can do this." She turned from him then, staring down the dusky trail that nature had created in the woods. "The secret is just up there. At least it should be. I can feel it. It feels like I'm being led by something. And I trust it. I'll be going." She glanced back at him with a smile. "I'll come back when it's all over."_

_"Aeris..." Cloud wanted to reach for her and hold her close to him. But he found that he could not move. She turned away from him again and started deeper into the trees. He watched her go, wanting nothing more than to run after her. But his body would not listen. He was caught in place, against his will. "Aeris!" He shouted after her, his voice resounding loudly, but Aeris did not come back._

_"Aeris!" he shouted again._

_"Ssh."_

_Sephiroth was suddenly standing beside the boy. Only a foot away._

_Cloud's heart pounded in terror, but even still, he could not move. Sephiroth hardly glanced at him, but was staring after Aeris. "Quiet now, or she might hear."_

_"Sephiroth..." Cloud whispered. He wanted to shout after Aeris, so that she _would_ hear. But with Sephiroth there... he found that he could only obey._

_"So she's thinking of interfering," Sephiroth said thoughtfully. "And she is so unlike the others. Such power." He glanced at Cloud. "She will be a difficult one, don't you think? You and I must stop that girl soon."_

_No. Cloud wouldn't. He wanted to tell Sephiroth that. But he couldn't. He couldn't move, and he couldn't speak. He would have wondered if he was even still alive, but his pounding heart was painful evidence that he was. And he was terrified. Close to panicking._

_Sephiroth smiled cruelly, and started down the trail after Aeris._

OOOOOOO

It was a cold, blustery morning in Gongaga. Outside, it was wet and muddy, and the sky was gray and dismal. The tiny, one-roomed house whose occupants had charitably welcomed Avalanche into while they stayed with their neighbors was heated by a woodstove. It wasn't as warm as it might have been with Mako energy, but there was something about that kind of warmth that was more... _real_... than Mako _ever_ could be.

The wind outside was loud, and Tifa, sitting beside the bed on which the unconscious mercenary lay, listened to it miserably. Presently, she was in that room alone with Cloud while the others allowed him some quiet as they stood outside considering their options. She should be out there with them, she knew, but she could not bring herself to leave Cloud. What if he, were he to be left alone in here, should need something?

He had not awoken once since their encounter with Sephiroth on that island. It was like he was in a coma. Somehow, they had managed to bring him to this tiny village, far from the isles, before ShinRa returned to the Temple and found them there.

A week had gone by. There was no sign that Sephiroth had used Meteor yet, which was good. He probably, for all his bragging, had yet to find the Promised Land. In any case, Tifa knew they were running out of time. Aeris had apparently agreed, for she had left them, saying something about needing to do something. Personally, Tifa was glad that _someone_ had an idea of what to do. Because _she_ had never felt more lost or helpless.

And so she sat in a chair at Cloud's bedside, waiting for him to wake as she clutched the gray Materia in her hand, _praying_ for something to happen. There were tears in her eyes, and she whispered to whoever might hear. "Don't take him from me now. There're still so many questions I have... I can't do this alone."

The door opened and Tifa glanced at it to see Cait Sithe entering. The little toy had arrived in Gongaga recently, and apparently from Midgar. It was surprising, really. He had told them all the truth. Even Barret. He was not the same toy that had been crushed by the Temple of the Ancients, but a replica. But the person _inside_ that toy was the same. A ShinRa agent, who wanted to forsake ShinRa now, but could not come to them in his real form without "giving up on a great opportunity to double-cross the company and spy on _them_ for a change." Barret and Cid had hardly been thrilled with the idea, but ShinRa still had Marlene and Elmyra, so they really weren't left with any choice.

"How is he?" Cait Sithe asked, closing the door gently behind him before urging his moogle towards the bed.

"Still no change," Tifa whispered sadly. "I can get a spoon in his mouth with soup in it, and he'll swallow, but he really needs something were more substance."

"Tifa..." Cait Sithe hesitated, apparently uncomfortable with what he was about to suggest. "There... There's a chance he won't wake up."

"Don't," Tifa warned, looking down at the gray sphere in her hands.

"The others are worried," the cat went on gently. "He needs better care. Even Barret agrees with that much. And Avalanche needs to start after Sephiroth again. Can't wait around for Cloud to wake up, 'cause Sephiroth isn't going to before he summons Meteor. Maybe the best thing for Cloud... is a hospital."

"The hospitals are run by ShinRa," Tifa snapped, glaring back at Cait Sithe bitterly. "I've been in one before. And I'm not putting him through that!"

"But Tifa..." Cait Sithe looked like he _really_ didn't want to continue with this conversation. "Is it even your choice?"

Tifa looked away from him, and back at Cloud. He was sleeping soundly, but he looked so sad. It was exactly how she felt. "It's his choice. But I know what that choice would be. And it would be 'no'."

Tifa reached for the covers that blanketed the mercenary. She pulled them up slightly and reached under for his hand. She gently brought it out and rested it on top the coverlet with his palm facing the ceiling. Then, she firmly pressed the gray Materia into his hand.

"Please, Cloud," she whispered, gently bringing his fingers down to hold the orb. "Come back to us."

The Materia suddenly flashed a bright gray. Tifa started in surprise even as Cait Sithe squealed, jumping back. But the woman just leaned closer, feeling the gray Materia's strange power.

The light fell back into its core, and for a moment, everything was quiet. And then, as Tifa watched, through her tears, she saw Cloud blinking up at her. He was awake.

The door opened and Barret scrambled inside. "The _hell_ just happened?"

"Tifa..." Cloud stared up at her and she smiled happily, even as she cried. "What...?"

"Ssh," she whispered, falling out of her chair so that she was kneeling on the floor beside him. "It's going to be okay now."

The door opened again and the rest of their friends entered, surprised and delighted to see Cloud awake. Yuffie practically shot forward, ready to jump into his unprepared arms... but Cid held her back with a soft swear.

"Cait Sithe...?" Cloud stared at the toy in confusion as he sat up.

The cat shifted awkwardly on his moogle. "I... told you that you wouldn't get rid of me so easily, right?"

"Didn't realize that had been easy," Cloud muttered. He glanced around at the rest of his friends. "Aeris isn't here, is she?"

"How'd you know that?" Tifa asked with a small frown. The others waited for an answer, equally as baffled.

"I dreamt it," he explained, touching his forehead with his free hand as he stared down at the gray Materia he held in his other. "She's headed to the City of the Ancients, and Sephiroth is following her."

"What?" Tifa felt her heart run cold as the others let out similar questions or – in Cid and Barret's cases – loud curses.

"Why would she go there _alone_?" Yuffie complained miserably.

"She probably feels that it is her responsibility," Vincent said thoughtfully. "As a Cetra, it is her task to protect the planet from something like Meteor."

"She thinks she's the only one who can," Cloud agreed.

"We have to find her!" Tifa proclaimed desperately. "We can't let Sephiroth get to her first!"

"I've heard of the City of the Ancients," Red Thirteen said helpfully. "It's beyond the Sleeping Forest to the north east."

"Then let's go!" Yuffie suggested enthusiastically.

"But Cloud just woke up," Vincent reminded her softly. "Give him a moment to get his strength back."

"A moment won't cut it, Vincent," Cloud said softly, unable to look at any of his friends. All he could do was stare down at the Materia Tifa had given him.

"Wha's _tha'_ supposed ta mean?" Barret demanded harshly.

Cloud felt his body tremble as every one of his friends' eyes turned towards him. "I can't go with you anymore. Sephiroth... I can't fight him. He's too strong."

"You mean 'cause ya totally frigged out back on that island?" Barret asked coldly. "An' practically _handed_ him the Black Materia?"

Guilt caused Cloud's body to shake, and he closed his eyes with a nod. "Yeah. I had no control at all. I'm too much of a liability now."

"It's your choice," Vincent said, and he turned and walked back outside.

"Damn kids," Cid said, pulling a cigarette out and walking outside with a lighter. Cait Sithe had his moogle hobble after them without a word. But the others... Tifa, Barret, Red Thirteen, and Yuffie, weren't quite ready to leave Cloud behind.

"Come on, Cloud!" Yuffie was whining. "I thought you really cared about Aeris! Don't you wanna protect her?"

"Would I really be protecting her?" Cloud asked, thinking back to his dream. Sephiroth... He had felt so powerless...

"Well, at least you'd be _doing_ some 'tin," Barret replied, crossing his arms. "An' that's what really matters. This road we've started down... It's like we're on a train, an' we ain't getting off till the end of the line. So-"

"Barret." Cloud looked up at him miserably. "I can't do it anymore." Why couldn't they understand that? He had never asked them to go any farther than they wanted to. Why couldn't he have the same chance to pull out? Because he was in too deeply?

"But it's Aeris..." Tifa whispered, looking down unhappily. "This isn't an act anymore, Cloud. She's really in trouble. And from someone a _lot_ worse than any evil dragon king..."

Cloud almost jumped in surprise, and he looked at Tifa in horror. Had she...? Realization hit him like a mace. Tifa had seen him with Aeris on stage at the Gold Saucer. She had seen them kiss... He gazed at her desolately. "Tifa..."

"We get that you're scared," Barret said, having completely missed the meaning behind Tifa's last comment. "Hell, we all are. An' believe me, any thought of Sephiroth turning you in ta a zombie again is enough for me ta wanna continue on without cha. But cha don't get cha answers wit' out a fight. You wanna find out wha' you're looking for, you gotta fight. Can't run when things get hard. You've led us this far, Cloud, and ya can't jus' quit. 'Cause if ya do, it would've all been for nothing."

"What are you going to do if Sephiroth controls me again?" Cloud asked.

"Well, for one," Yuffie cut in, always ready to help. "We aren't gonna be caught off guard like we were last time. We'll be ready for it!"

"Yeah," Barret agreed. "An' if it _does_ happen, I'll slap you so hard upside your head, you'll end up spinning right down back ta normal."

Cloud glanced at him skeptically. "You will?"

"Got that right," Barret nodded, almost _daring_ the mercenary to say otherwise. But Cloud let it go.

"Just think about it for a minute," Tifa said softly. "Aeris is in danger. Danger from Sephiroth. Are you really considering not going?" Her heart felt like it was bleeding. If Cloud wouldn't even go for _Aeris_, then how could she ever hope he would come for her, as he had promised seven years ago, if she ever got in trouble?

But Cloud shook his head. "No." He didn't have a choice. For Aeris's sake, he would sacrifice _everything_. Even his freedom. He would give in to Sephiroth if it meant protecting her. "I will go with you."

OOOOOOO

The City of the Ancients seemed to shine. It was surprisingly big, easily the size of Wutai, and then some. Blue white light flowed throughout it, past its buildings, streets, and walls. There was magic to it. Magic that might not have come from Materia.

Aeris made her way through it as if in a trance. It could hardly be called a city anymore. No one lived there. Many of the buildings and walls had fallen. The streets were cracking. All that was left was a ruin. And yet, it had once been the home of Aeris's people. She could feel their presence even then.

She walked beside a river. The water was crystal clear. There was no contamination in it. No sign that the world was filled with pollution. The air was pure here. Several large white columns lined her path. Once, they had been grand pillars holding parts of the city up. But now they had no purpose, and merely pointed up, like fingers stretching towards the sky.

Aeris walked on. She moved like a ghost through this realm. But she had one final task she needed to accomplish before moving on. For the planet.

She came to a fenced-in dais. It was encircled by several large columns. The river flowed calmly past it. There was something peaceful there. She could sense them. Her people. They were ready to listen to her.

She walked up several marble steps until she was on the dais. Then she moved into its center and slowly turned to face her city. It was time. She knelt down and, bowing her head, she closed her eyes. _I have come,_ she began to pray.


	39. Aeris's Theme, Part Two

**Chapter Thirty-Eight: Aeris's Theme, Part Two**

_"Excuse me." Aeris was standing before him in Midgar, right after a Reactor had exploded. But that was before he had even known her name. So long ago... "Could you please tell me what happened?"_

Red Thirteen had led them to the Sleeping Forest. The journey had gone by quickly, and Cloud could hardly remember it at all. The only thing he could think about was Aeris and Sephiroth, and how he had to get to them in time. Everything else passed by as if in a dream.

The Sleeping Forest was exactly as he had seen it, right up to the brown grass, the absence of any leaves of any kind, and the mist. Cloud stared at it apprehensively. He could sense them both. Aeris... Sephiroth... They were yet before him.

"Is this the Sleeping Forest?" Yuffie asked, sounding afraid.

"The City of the Ancients should be directly beyond it," Red Thirteen informed them.

"We're close," Vincent guessed.

A small breeze passed by them, and in it, Cloud thought he could hear a voice. _"Come,"_ it beckoned.

"We should hurry," he told them, and led them past the tree line.

It was cold in the forest. Shadows were everywhere, and the mist seemed full of secrets and warnings. So much was uncertain. But Cloud couldn't bring himself to stop.

_The church... It was filled with such beautiful flowers. And Aeris... "They say this is a sacred place. They say you can't grow grass or flowers in Midgar. But for some reason, the flowers have no trouble blooming here."_

"Aeris," Cloud whispered to himself. "It's because of you."

The forest passed in the blink of an eye. And the eight companions stood at the broken gates of a fallen city.

"Oh," Tifa had tears in her eyes as she stared at the ruins. "It must have been so beautiful..."

How could something so pure, so incredible, end up like this? They were all wondering that as they took in the sight of buildings that had fallen, and columns that were no longer useful. Everything seemed to shine in a light that was both blue and white at once. The City of the Ancients was not like any other city on the planet.

_"Come," _the voice continued to beckon in Cloud's ear. _"You will find her. But you must find her alone."_

"There's no way we can find her in time unless we split up," Cloud said, turning towards his friends. "And I have a feeling we need to find her soon. Sephiroth's here."

"How do you know that?" Barret demanded.

"I can feel him," Cloud said. "You go with Cid." Barret glanced at the pilot, and both men nodded. Cloud turned towards Red Thirteen. "Keep an eye of Yuffie and Cait Sithe for me?"

"I will," he assured the mercenary, despite the girl and the cat's offended objections. They didn't need to be supervised!

Cloud ignored them and looked towards Vincent and Tifa. "You two stay close together." Vincent nodded, but Tifa was frowning.

"Are you going to be all right alone?" she asked.

Cloud hesitated, but the voice spoke to him again. _"You will be."_ He nodded. "I will be."

His friends parted ways at that moment, spreading out into the city to begin their search. Cloud waited until they had gone, not moving a single muscle. The voice whispered in his mind. _"This way."_ He started walking down a certain street.

_Aeris was twirling around through the park in Midgar with her arms extended out and her long braid gliding through the air after her. Her laughter echoed like a harp. She was so beautiful as she turned towards him with an enchanting, joyful smile. "I didn't want to say goodbye to you quite yet."_

He could see the dais ahead of him. Aeris was kneeling towards him with her hands clasped and her head bowed. She was praying.

_"Stop her,"_ the voice told Cloud. He continued walking towards her, and he drew his sword.

OOOOOOO

Tifa hurried down several twisting streets glancing in every direction as she searched for the Cetra. She felt like she was walking through a labyrinth, and it was hard to tell if she was walking in circles.

Vincent was behind her, searching more thoroughly as the girl ahead of him was practically just scanning the surface and nothing more. Tifa was looking for anything that might stand out. Vincent was searching for something more subtle that she might have overlooked.

In any case, they weren't finding anything. Tifa was starting to feel lost, and her heart weighed heavily with urgency. Something bad was going to happen if they didn't do something! Something soon!

OOOOOOO

Aeris must have sensed Cloud's presence as he stepped slowly up the dais. Her eyes opened, and she looked up at him, taking in his face, his eyes, and the way he held his sword poised, as if ready to strike.

She gracefully rose to her feet, her eyes calm and bright. She did not look at all afraid. In fact, there was even a small, soft smile on her lips.

_"Do it,"_ the voice told Cloud. He raised his sword slightly, but hesitated, gazing into Aeris's eyes.

_"I'm searching for you, Cloud," she told him, sitting up in that Ferris Wheel. "I want to meet you." A moment later, they had been interrupted by fireworks._

"Aeris..." he didn't want to do this.

Aeris walked towards him calmly. There was something expressed in her eyes. Understanding... Love... She smiled. "Don't be afraid, Cloud. You can do this."

Cloud dropped his sword. It landed heavily on the dais. He shook his head. "Aeris... I want... I want you to see who I really am..." _What was it that he hid beneath the surface?_

"I can already see," she told him gently, reaching up her hand to caress his face. Her touch... was soft and warm. Cloud felt his eyes fill with tears.

OOOOOOO

Tifa was frantic. Something was wrong! She could feel it. She hadn't felt this way in so long!

Tears burned in her eyes. So great was her urgency that she could not just keep at a brisk pace. She was running now. Sprinting through the city, stopping at every other intersection to look both left and right. There was such a junction in the road ahead.

Everything seemed so quiet. All Tifa could hear were her feet pounding on the ground as she ran. In her mind, she kept thinking to herself: _This can't be happening! This can't be happening!_

But she wasn't even sure what it was that was happening! Something _beyond_ terrible...

She came to an instant stop when she had reached the intersection. She quickly glanced to her right, and what she saw made her blood run cold. Her heart stopped. She couldn't breathe.

For there, too far away for even her voice to travel, she could see a dais in the distance. Cloud and Aeris were on it. It was surrounded by several tall columns. And standing on one of those columns looking down at them...

So intent were Cloud and Aeris on each other that they didn't even notice the man above them. Watching them. And even at such a distance, Tifa could tell that he was not pleased.

"No!" she shrieked, bolting towards them as fast as she could.

Behind her, Vincent had heard her cry and started after her. But they were just so far away. They weren't going to make it in time.

OOOOOOO

_"But there are worse things than death," Tifa whispered into the night._

_"But," Aeris quickly shot back. "There is nothing better than life."_

She looked up at him and seemed happy that he was there. As if she still needed him to be her bodyguard. She just seemed so certain about everything. And he knew he loved her. "Aeris..."

OOOOOOO

"Cloud!" Tifa screamed, wishing he could hear her. She had never sprinted so fast in her life. But he could not hear her. He wasn't even looking at her.

But _he_ was.

Tifa sensed it, and she looked back up at the man standing atop the column. He was staring directly at her, with cold, cruel eyes filled with malice.

Tifa stumbled and went down hard, landing on her hands and knees. She felt her skin tear slightly on palms, and they immediately began to burn in stinging pain. Tears were pouring down her eyes, but they weren't because of her scratched hands.

Vincent knelt down beside her and pulled her protectively into his arms. But she wasn't the one who needed protection, she thought as he helped her back onto her feet. Together, they looked back towards the dais and watched helplessly as Sephiroth pulled the Masamune free of its sheath and stepped off the column.

OOOOOOO

Cloud saw the blade before he saw anything else. It moved down on them like falling water, and it pierced Aeris's back at a smooth, sharp angle.

Some force brushed against Cloud, sending him stumbling backwards. He completely tripped, and ended up falling down the dais steps and landing heavily on the ground below. And because of that, he was spared from the blade that brutally extended out of Aeris's chest.

He looked up in horror. Sephiroth was standing behind Aeris, towering over her as he held the Masamune through her body. He was smiling as he looked down at her, almost fondly.

Aeris's mouth opened slightly as her hands reached down towards the blade extending from her chest. She touched it as she looked down at it, and saw that it was warm and covered in her blood. Her face twisted then into sorrow. She felt more sorrow than pain as she closed her eyes.

Her arms fell to her sides, and her legs lost all their strength and buckled. She would have collapsed onto the ground, but for the sword that held her up.

Cloud couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. All he could do was stare up at the sight above him in disbelief.

Sephiroth savagely jerked the Masamune free. Aeris's body was thrown to the dais floor with such violence that her braid loosened, and a small, whitish, blue-green orb fell free.

_"The Materia _I_ have is special," she had told him playfully. "It's good for absolutely nothing." But... it had been her mother's. Her real mother's._

It rolled away from her, and fell off the dais. It hit the ground with such force that it was pushed back up into the air.

_Aeris, Cloud had thought, when leaving the boat at Costa del Sol. Where would we be without you?_

The Materia hit the ground again, and was pushed back up, propelling itself away from the dais.

_"Don't worry," Aeris had told him, as if she had been able to read his mind. "I'm not going to leave you."_

The Materia bounced off the ground again, and floated in the air for a moment as it fell towards the river.

_They sat in Cosmo Canyon around its candle. Aeris sounded somewhat sad. "I'm all alone."_

_Cloud turned towards her. "But I'm... we're all here for you, right?"_

_"I know," Aeris assured him. "But I'm the only Cetra." She had smiled. "If I join Avalanche... It'll be my way of helping. And the last Cetra should help protect the planet, right?"_

The Materia hit the water. It sank then, until it reached the bottom. It touched down there, and came to a complete and utter rest.

Aeris lay motionlessly on the dais. She was not breathing. She was perfectly still. And Sephiroth towered over her, looking down at her in satisfaction, as if he were admiring his work.

"No," Cloud breathed. He slowly pushed his way back up the stairs and onto the dais. Sephiroth watched calmly as he crawled over to Aeris's body and slowly picked her up into his arms.

"Do not worry," he told the boy gently. "Soon the girl will become a part of the planet's energy. All that is left for us to do now is to go north. The Promised Land awaits me over the snowy fields. There I will become a new being by uniting with the planet. As will this girl."

"Please," Cloud whispered, closing his eyes tightly against his tears as he held Aeris close to him. "Shut up."

Sephiroth stared down at him with a frown, waiting.

Cloud glanced up at him, his eyes red with tears that streamed down his face. He could hardly see past them, past their burning sting. His body shook as a bitter taste filled his dry mouth. When he spoke, his voice was quiet, but filled with anguish. "The cycle of nature and your stupid plan don't mean a thing. Aeris is gone! She won't ever-"

Cloud couldn't speak any more. He couldn't stop picturing Aeris. He could see her as she laughed, teased... as she picked flowers in meadows along their journey with Yuffie and Cait Sithe... as she angrily stood up for Barret against the people of Corel... as she cried for Tseng, when he lay dying in her arms as she now lay dead in Cloud's...

She had been so full of life... And energy... Happiness... Compassion... How could they go on without that?

"What about us?" he asked Sephiroth, looking back down at her bleeding body. "What are we supposed to do now?"

Sephiroth considered the boy for a moment. But then his face twisted into amusement. "Are you trying to tell me that you have feelings too?"

Cloud looked up at him sharply. For a moment, fear flowed through him, but then his anguish returned with even more force. He shook his head slowly. "Why wouldn't I?"

"No, Cloud," Sephiroth told him gently. "There's no need for you to act as though you're sad. You needn't act angry either."

Cloud cringed as Sephiroth walked towards him. The great warrior was smiling. "For you are nothing more than a puppet." He held up his sword again.

There was a terrible shriek from behind. Sephiroth glanced up in mild surprise to see a large, monstrous beast shooting towards him at an impossible speed. The beast was huge. Larger than Sephiroth. It was covered in fur and must have been, in the tiniest of senses, somewhat human for the way it carried itself. But other than that, it had no resemblance to man, and looked more like a powerful, deformed, and monstrous ape.

Sephiroth jumped back from it as it sprung in-between him and Cloud. It was practically foaming at the mouth, snarling furiously at Aeris's murderer, obviously ready to fight to the death to protect the boy.

"Very well," Sephiroth allowed, and he turned then, and walked away. He sheathed the Masamune as he vaulted over the fence and off the dais. He disappeared into the distance.

Cloud looked up at the monster that had come to his rescue. Once again he had been spared from Sephiroth's blade, but this time he didn't care. And if this monster chose to turn on him now, it wouldn't make any difference.

But then... the monster transformed. It melted away until it took the shape of a man that Cloud could recognize. Vincent... So that was what Hojo's experiments had done to him. They enabled him to become a monster...

But not even that mattered. Cloud looked down at the body he held in his arms. The body of a girl he loved. It was motionless, and it was growing cold. For the first time... it was lifeless. She was gone from it. She was gone from them. Cloud felt his tears raining down.

OOOOOOO

The City was behind them. They were once again walking through the Sleeping Forest. But it did not seem to be sleeping anymore. It felt dead.

Cloud was carrying Aeris's body in his arms. It was growing dark, and the mist seemed thicker than ever before. And Cloud couldn't see anything but the path in front of him. It led out of the trees and down a bank to the shores of a deep, deep blue lake.

Yuffie couldn't walk any farther. She collapsed, and tears poured down her face in violent sobs. Tifa stopped and knelt beside her, drawing the teenager into her arms. Cait Sithe watched, looking more like an inanimate toy than ever before.

Red Thirteen walked slowly, and his ears lay flat on his head, and his tail was tucked between his legs. Cid was trying to light a cigarette, but he couldn't, so he gave up and covered his face in his hands. Barret wasn't moving anymore at all. His body was still, like a great, miserable statue. And Vincent watched over them all silently, blending in with the mist and the trees, but ever present and protective.

Cloud stepped into the water. It would have felt cold, if he could feel at all. He waded into the lake, pushing forward until he was he waist-deep. And then he paused, looking down at the girl he held in his arms. In his mind, he could hear echoes of the past.

_"Oh, how profound the power of Love! And so, the Legendary Hero, Alfred, the beautiful Princess Rosa, and our story live on happily ever after!"_

_"You two are perfect for each other. Aeris's star is Cloud's star. They show an amazing future."_

_"I had fun tonight. We should go together again sometime."_

Who lives happily ever after? Who has any sort of future? When would he ever be with her again?

He gently brought her body down to rest on the surface of the lake. She floated for a moment, but then she began to sink...

Cloud watched as she disappeared under the water. His heart felt like it had shattered. And it hurt too much for him to say goodbye.

OOOOOOO

One might not have thought it possible for there to still be laughter in the world. But far from the Sleeping Forest, in the city of Midgar, one little girl was doing so.

Marlene had been allowed back into the office with Elmyra, and now she was working furiously at 'decorating' the walls of that office with permanent marker. And she was laughing as she told her companion a story.

"And the wicked president didn't stand a chance!" she declared triumphantly, turning around from her self-made mural with a smile.

Elmyra, though amused, still had traces of concern on her face. Marlene noticed and sighed.

"Mrs. Gainsborough," she trotted over to the woman, who then picked her up and held her on her lap. "Why can't you be happy?"

"Because," Elmyra told her gently. "I want to go home. And I want you to be at your home, with your father."

Marlene smiled again. "Don't worry! Papa'll come! An' if he don't, Tifa will! An' if Tifa don't, Cloud will!"

"I hope so," Elmyra said softly. She smiled, then. "They all seemed like such nice people. I hope they're doing well for themselves."

"I know why you're worried!" Marlene declared energetically. "You miss your daughter! The flower lady!"

Elmyra glanced down at her with a nod. "Yes. I do miss her."

"I get that," Marlene assured her. "She's with Cloud right now! So you don't have to worry about her! 'Cause Cloud'll protect her and she'll be safe! And when he comes to rescue us, she'll be with him, and you can see her then!"

Elmyra nodded, and sighed at the thought. She smiled softly. "I can't wait."


	40. What Do We Do?

**Chapter Thirty-Nine: "What Do We Do?"**

_She was alone, and it was dark. That was among the first things she noticed as her eyes opened and were able to take in her surroundings. It seemed so dark, despite the sickly yellow-green light that allowed her to see. She could clearly make out everything around her because of it, but in the end, it felt so dark..._

_She couldn't recognize this place. But it felt familiar... It was a long corridor with shadows eerily cast around her like demons hoping to ensnare her in their vice claws. Terrified that they would succeed if she did not move to evade them, she began scrambling down the hall._

_It felt like it stretched on and on until eternity. Tears stung in her eyes because it felt like it would never end and she would never escape. Not even in death, for through death, she would become even more a part of _him_. And that would be a worse nightmare._

_Suddenly, the corridor turned. She slowed down until she was not moving at all, staring at the corner, hesitant to walk round it. She feared what lay beyond that bend in the hallway, though she had no idea why._

_There was laughter behind her. Demonic laughter. She glanced over her shoulder and could see the shadows reaching for her. She had to press on, or they would catch her. She turned back towards the corner and walked around it._

_As soon as she did, she found herself staring down at hundreds of bodies. Men and women lay everywhere in a corridor that by all rights wasn't large enough to fit them. And they were all corpses, torn brutally open and left mutilated for the world to see. Blood blanketed the floor, it covered the walls, it even touched up on the ceiling. And that, added to the effects that the yellow-green light had had on her, was enough to completely engulf her. She could no longer move at all. She was frozen._

_Even when she realized she wasn't alone. _He_ was there, too. Standing in the middle of it all. She watched helplessly as he sheathed his Masamune and turned towards her. He didn't speak, but his face was painted with the blood of all these people. He started towards her, and she couldn't resist. Even when he was directly in front of her, all she could do was cringe as tears fell down her face._

_He roughly grabbed her arms with his blood-soaked hands. The power she felt from him was astronomical. She could never match him... No one could. He turned, dragging her with him with the greatest ease, and then he pushed her. She landed heavily among the corpses and in the blood. It covered her... contaminated her. She glanced back up at him, expecting him to be towering over her with the Masamune drawn._

_But he had turned from her, choosing to leave her alive. He walked away from her until she could no longer make him out through the yellow-green light. He hadn't killed her... But that, she thought, was no mercy..._

Tifa's eyes snapped open and she sat up rapidly as she struggled to catch her breath. Her body was covered in sweat even as she shivered, feeling colder than ice. She quickly realized she couldn't breathe fast enough for her speeding heart, and for a moment she thought she was going to suffocate.

But then Vincent was at her side, and he wrapped two powerful arms around her and held her comfortingly. It took a little bit of time, but gradually Tifa began to relax, and sat motionlessly in his hold.

It had only been a nightmare... nightmares... Aeris had shielded them from nightmares. But Aeris was gone now... so they probably could expect more. A lot more. And suddenly the thought of sleep terrified Tifa.

Tears filled her eyes. What were they going to do without Aeris? What was Cloud going to do? "Where's Cloud?"

They were all still in the Sleeping Forest. The lake where they had laid Aeris to rest remained behind them, but they had all been too exhausted to move on from it... Too exhausted... or maybe just in denial. Tifa certainly knew _she_ still expected to see Aeris appear with flowers in her hand and a smile on her face at any moment. The thought that she never would again... was like a knife constantly tearing through her heart. And it was a physical pain that hurt her terribly.

"He's not far," Vincent assured her. "He couldn't sleep either. Why don't you go to him?"

Tifa nodded and stood up. She walked away from Vincent then, who sat behind her, watching. She walked as if she were in a trance. Through the shadows of the forest that was blanketed in mist. It was like she was still in a dream. For in what waking world could they all exist without Aeris?

She walked away from Vincent, and then past her other companions. Cait Sithe, atop his moogle, seemed inanimate. Yuffie was lying by Red Thirteen, cuddling next to him as if he were a pet, and though both of them were sleeping, tears still soaked the teenager's face. Barret and Cid were next to each other, leaning against the same tree. Barret's legs were drawn up and he hid his face in his arms. Cid had a cigarette in his mouth, and he watched her with old, weary eyes. But Tifa ignored them. She walked even farther still, until she was beside a tree against which Cloud was sitting and leaning.

He was awake, and yet he stared off into the forest before him as if unseeing. He didn't seem to notice Tifa as she sat down beside him and took his hands in hers.

"Even now I can't stop thinking about Sephiroth," Cloud said, not seeing her, but at least acknowledging her. His voice sounded heavy, and empty. Devoid. Tifa knew she certainly felt that way.

"I dreamt about him," she whispered. "I can't escape him either." She felt guilty... She had _seen_ Sephiroth before he had stepped off that column to kill Aeris. She had _seen_ him! If only she could have gotten to him in time... Things could have been different.

"I can't keep doing this..." Cloud whispered. "Going after him, only to be beaten by him." He glanced at her then, his eyes finally seeming to fix on her. But Tifa saw the disappointment in them, and realized she was not the one he had hoped to see sitting beside him. She looked away.

"If we don't go after him," she whispered. "If we give up... something worse will happen and there will be nothing to stop it."

"I know," he agreed.

"Cloud..." she looked at him again, and there were tears in her eyes. "What do we do? What are we supposed to do now?" It was the exact same question he had asked Sephiroth when on that dais, holding Aeris in his arms.

Cloud trembled as he thought about that. What was there left for them? They needed Aeris... but she would not have wanted them to just give up, would she? He didn't want to disappoint her... but he just couldn't...

He looked back out into the forest. The mist seemed to intensify, and it swept around him like liquid cloth, if such a thing existed. In it, he could hear a voice beckoning...

_"Come..."_

He trembled slightly and looked back at Tifa. "I'm afraid... There's a part of me that I don't understand. That part that made me give the Black Materia to Sephiroth... And the part that almost..." That almost killed Aeris... He had barely been able to stop himself. If he hadn't... If he had killed her...

He shook his head and looked away from the woman beside him. "There's something inside of me. Something that's not really _me_. And... because of it... I shouldn't keep going. I'm a liability, and I should quit before Sephiroth makes me do something terrible..." Like he almost did tonight...

"Cloud..." Tifa whispered, but he reached out to touch her hand and silence her.

"But I'm not going to," he told her. He looked up at her, and for a moment, they just gazed into each others' eyes. "I can't quit, Tifa. He destroyed our home... You'd think that would have been enough. But now he's killed Aeris and is trying to kill the very world." He shook his head in disgust. "I can't ever forgive him. I have to keep... at least... _trying_ to stop him."

Tifa's hand wrapped around Cloud's and she squeezed it comfortingly. But in her eyes, her tears were falling.

"I'm just so afraid," he told her. "I... want... to ask you a favor." He looked at her, and she gazed back into his eyes. They were all so full of sorrow and regret. Grief... There was too much of it in the world. "Will you come with me? To stop me... if I ever find myself doing something terrible?"

Tifa nodded through her tears. "Yes, Cloud... I'll go wherever you are..." _I'll follow you into Hell... just to be with you... _"But where will you go?"

"Sephiroth said he was heading north," Cloud told her. "Over snowy fields. He's going to the Promised Land, and he's going to use the Black Materia when he gets there to summon Meteor."

"So if we want to stop him," Tifa theorized softly. "We have to get the Black Materia back before he uses it."

"Which means we still have a chance to beat him," Cloud agreed. "But only if we get there in time."


	41. Her Parents

**Chapter Forty: Her Parents**

The journey north would prove both long and hard, as the companions were soon to realize. After that night in the Sleeping Forest, Cloud hadn't expected them all to continue on together. Sephiroth had proven that they were not immortal, and had taken from them the one person they knew to be their strength and peace of mind. Without Aeris, Cloud would have thought, at least _one_ of them would decide not to continue.

So it was to his surprise when, the next morning, one by one his friends had agreed to carry on their quest. Tifa had already done so, and Cait Sithe followed immediately – and why should he not? He was actually pretty safe, far away in Midgar. Barret was also quick to step up, for his mission had _always_ been to save the planet. He had continued after Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie had died, and he wouldn't stop now... He wouldn't stop ever. Vincent also assured Cloud that he would come, for it was all he could think of doing with his life, for he had nothing else. And Red Thirteen would come, for he had promised his grandfather, and he would not be the coward he had once thought his father to be. Yuffie, who was visibly the most shaken from what had happened, also agreed to continue. In her words, she "wouldn't let that damn asshole who took Aeris from us to go unpunished." And as for Cid, well, his reasons for continuing on were slightly hard to decipher, for the string of vulgarism they had been spoken around. Basically, he wanted to see Sephiroth in Hell.

So they continued on. Eventually, they had arrived at the coast, much to Yuffie's dismay. And they had to sail across the ocean to the northern continent by ship. The voyage only lasted a day and a half, and Cloud felt sorrowful that this time, there were no dolphins to dance for him in the night.

When the ship touched down on the northern continent, they rented another large truck that somehow fit all of them, and, with whatever they could use for bartering, they bought themselves warmer, more appropriate clothes for colder weather, as well as food. Then they set out, with Vincent driving, and continued traveling north after Sephiroth.

Days began to pass by. They all felt terribly the absence of any happiness. Some moments were harder than others, of course, but even in their best of moments, it wasn't the same.

Yuffie tried as hard as she could to pick up where Aeris had left off as the one who brought to them laughter and higher spirits. But in the Cetra's shadow, the teenager felt terribly inadequate and a poor substitute. And even in those better moments, they all knew it was Aeris that they needed... It was Aeris they couldn't get on without.

So it was like this when they reached a town that was actually called Icicle Inn. They were all forlorn and withdrawn, and it was cold outside, and night was falling. So Vincent parked the truck outside a small motel, and sat for a moment with a noticeable frown on his face.

Tifa, who had been sitting in the passenger's seat beside the driver, glanced towards him in curiosity. "What is it?"

"This town," he told her as those in the back listened as solemnly as Tifa. "I've heard of it before."

"In a good sense o' bad sense?" Barret asked.

Vincent didn't answer directly. Instead, he gazed out the windshield thoughtfully. "Infalna..."

That name caught everyone's attention. They all stared at Vincent expectantly, waiting for him to elaborate on why he should whisper the name of Aeris's mother. And they all knew something about this town would prove different from the others before it.

"A long time ago," Vincent finally explained. "Professor Gast, Dr. Hojo, and Lucrecia were working together in Nibelheim on the Jenova Project.

_"It was before we knew that Jenova was a monster. We had thought she was an Ancient, and, after Lucrecia had realized Hojo had learned of her mistake, she had bound herself to him by injecting her womb with Jenova cells. It was only later when Professor Gast met the real Ancient. A woman named Infalna._

_"She came to Nibelheim... though I was never told why. Professor Gast took an immediate interest in her, and allowed her to come into the mansion so that she might see the remains of such an ancient Cetra. But she was not impressed by it. In fact, she had been frightened._

_"She told Gast that she wanted to leave Nibelheim immediately. She didn't want to be anywhere near the monster. Gast, of course, was intrigued, and wanted to learn more about her claim that Jenova was not a Cetra. And Infalna promised to answer all his questions, so long as they left Nibelheim behind._

_"So Gast went. He stayed only long enough to help Lucrecia deliver her baby. Sephiroth. And then he left Nibelheim, and the project, in the hands of several other ShinRa scientists. Those scientists took Sephiroth away from his mother and father, and neither ever saw him. I heard later that Gast had taken Infalna to a place called Icicle Inn, far to the north, where they would continue their discussion of Jenova's monstrosity. I was horrified to think that Lucrecia had injected herself with a monster's cells, so I confronted Hojo about it. That was when he forced me to become the subject of his experiments."_

"So that was how you knew Aeris's mother," Red Thirteen guessed. Vincent nodded.

"She looked so much like her," he told them. "I thought I must have been dreaming."

"So what happened?" Barret demanded. "How did Infalna end up in Midgar? Professor Gast is supposed ta be dead, ain't he?" Vincent glanced sharply at the leader of Avalanche in surprise, but Cloud nodded.

"Sephiroth said that Gast had died," he told them.

"I don't know anymore about that," Vincent said with a sigh. "All I know is that at one point, they were here."

"Aeris should be here," Yuffie whispered. "She would have wanted to see this place." The others could only agree in silence. But as they sat there with the truck turned off, it began to grow slightly cold, so there was nothing left for them to do but pile out and get inside the motel where they would rest for the night.

OOOOOOO

Unfortunately for Cloud, he would be unable to get to sleep that night. It had been the case ever since Aeris's death... Unless he dropped down from sheer exhaustion, he would not sleep at all.

But there was something different about it that night. Here, in this motel room, where Barret and Red Thirteen lay sleeping when he could not, he was too restless to even lie still. There was something about Icicle Inn... Something in the very atmosphere that was calling to him.

Aeris had been there once... He could sense that. This place was a part of her past, and even though she was gone from him now, he felt a wild yearning to find out what had happened to her here. He wanted to feel close to her again. There had to be _something_ in this town that could make him feel close to her...

Quietly, so as to not disturb the others, he climbed out of bed and crept from the room. He shut the door softly when he had crossed over into the hallway, and then turned to find himself face to face with Vincent. The older man seemed to have been waiting for him, and now the mercenary looked up in silent surprise to meet the former Turk's understanding eyes.

"I didn't think you'd be able to bear the not knowing, either," he explained quietly. "And I figured you'd come looking for answers."

"Am I so predictable?" Cloud asked.

Vincent turned around and glanced back at the mercenary over his shoulder. "Actually, it took you longer than I expected. Come with me. I've already gone in search of them, and I do believe I found something to satisfy your curiosity."

Cloud frowned, but when Vincent started down the hall, he followed close behind. They made their way through the lobby and back outside. The town seemed to be sleeping, and not even the moon or stars above could offer light, for dark clouds covered them. But Vincent seemed to know where he was going, and Cloud walked calmly at his side. And though it was cold out, neither one of them felt the chill.

They walked through the town in silence. Eventually, they came to a small little building that looked more like an igloo-shaped shack than anything else. A small sign posted over the door said that this was the town's "Research Center." Whatever that meant.

There were lights on inside, and Vincent softly knocked on the door. A moment later, the door opened and an elderly, wizened old man wearing a thick coat, scarf, and gloves peered out into the night.

"Ah!" he said cheerfully when he saw who stood in wait. "Vincent! You have returned!"

"I said I would, Professor," Vincent agreed politely as the man allowed the former Turk and mercenary in.

When Cloud entered, he found himself standing in a small, circular, one-room library – or so it seemed. There was a small, circular desk on which several open books lay cluttered with pens and pencils, markers, erasers, and other such small scholarly tools. On several of the walls, there were bookshelves, and most of them were completely full of various manuscripts. On one wall, however, there was a screen and a recorder, and they were what caught Cloud's attention the most.

"Cloud," Vincent said as the old man shut the door behind them. "This is Professor Miguel. He accompanied Professor Gast to this town all those years ago, and he assisted him in several interviews with Infalna."

Cloud looked over at Miguel in surprise. "Interviews?"

"Yes," Miguel nodded his head importantly... like a child. Then, he grew solemn, and he studied the mercenary thoughtfully. "So... You knew Infalna's daughter. When I knew her, she was such a small thing."

Cloud glanced uncertainly at Vincent. "Aeris was born here?" Vincent nodded.

"Here," Miguel turned towards the screen on the far wall. "Let me show you what I showed Vincent earlier tonight." He pressed a button on the recorder, and suddenly the screen burst to life.

Cloud watched solemnly as the image of a man and a woman filled the screen. The man, Cloud had never seen before, but he looked pleasant enough with a kind expression and a warm smile. The woman sitting beside him, Cloud immediately recognized. Aeris!

Only it wasn't Aeris, he realized, a moment later, as his heartbeat settled back down and he could breathe again. For though she looked like the Cetra, there were some differences. Namely, she looked older, and more weary, than Aeris ever did. Cloud realized this must have been Aeris's mother... Infalna.

"Okay," a much younger sounding Miguel could be heard speaking from somewhere behind the camera that had caught Gast and Infalna's images. "You're on."

"This is Professor Gast speaking," the man on the screen said. He gave a number of dates and times and other useless bits of information before he continued. "Here I sit with the last surviving Ancient, also known as Cetra, in Icicle Inn. We are here to discuss her people, as well as the issue surrounding Jenova." He glanced over at Aeris's mother with a warm smile. "Okay. Introduce yourself."

"All right," the woman glanced sheepishly back and forth between Gast and the camera. And though her face might have looked like her daughter's, her voice sounded different. Older, and more wise. "My name is Infalna..." she glanced back at Gast. "I've never done this before..."

"That's quite all right," he assured her. "Why don't you just tell us about the Ancients?"

Infalna nodded and looked back at the camera. "The Cetra are a people who have a very personal relationship with the planet. We are a wandering people, and over two thousand years ago, when we were a thriving race, we used to travel constantly. We sought the Promised Land, a place where we would find our own peace and happiness.

"But life was not always easy for the Cetra, and some decided that they wanted to settle down somewhere, and would no longer wander with the rest of us. They built homes and towns so that their lives might be easier. In time, their relationship with the planet became less of a relationship, and they slowly lost their gifts until they could no longer even be called Cetra. They became human.

"For awhile, the Cetra and the humans lived together peacefully. Nothing seemed wrong with the choices that had been made. But one day, two thousand years ago, something came from the skies and struck the planet, wounding it terribly. The Cetra desperately began to conserve energy, so that the planet could heal. And out of that wound, a creature was discovered. The Cetra befriended it, but it betrayed them, and unleashed a deadly virus among my people. The virus turned many of the Cetra into monsters, as the creature itself undeniably was.

"Humans hid from it, and the Cetra were desperate to protect them, and the planet itself. They fought against the creature and the virus as best they could. The creature, who you call Jenova, was named by the Cetra the Calamity from the Skies, and what brought it down onto the planet was called Meteor.

"As the Cetra fought, the planet created several Weapons to protect itself. Those Weapons would probably have been incredibly dangerous, but they were never released, for the Cetra managed to contain the calamity from the skies, and they begged the planet not to use them. The planet obliged.

"Afterwards, the Cetra slowly began to die out as the humans grew more prosperous. But none of my people resented the humans, for we understand how time and the planet works. So long as the calamity never returns, and Meteor is never brought down upon the planet again, we are at peace with our fate." Here, Infalna paused, and glanced at Professor Gast. "But you found the calamity again, haven't you? You named it Jenova."

Gast turned beat red, and he looked down shamefacedly. "Yeah. I suppose I did. But I was ignorant then."

"Well, what's done is done," Infalna said forgivingly. "I just hope no harm comes from it." Here, the recording ended. Miguel stepped towards it to turn it back off while Cloud and Vincent glanced at each other.

"Is that all there is?" the mercenary asked.

"That's all there is of Jenova and Meteor," Vincent replied. "But it's not all that was recorded. And also, Miguel remembers a lot of what happened."

Cloud turned towards the old man who was watching them both somberly. He nodded. "Yes. Those two were close friends of mine. It's very tragic, what happened to them and their little girl."

Cloud started at that. "Wait... Professor Gast... he was Aeris's father?"

Miguel nodded with a fond smile. He pressed another button on the recorder and the screen lit up again. A much younger version of himself stood in front of the camera with a malicious smile on his face.

"The happy young couple will be making their way in here soon," he said in a conspiratorial whisper. "It's about time the family was caught on camera, if ya ask me!"

At that moment, a door could be heard opening. Miguel jumped behind the camera, which had then been turned towards the door. A man was holding it open for a woman, who walked in with a small bundle of blankets in her arms. She was staring down at it lovingly, and hardly acknowledged Miguel or the fact that she was being recorded.

Gast, however, was staring away from the camera, probably at his friend, who he then addressed. "What are you doing?" There was a small smile on the professor's face.

"Turning you and your family into stars!" Miguel said from off screen. Infalna glanced up with light in her eyes.

"Oh, Miguel!" she complained. "Must you?"

"The camera wants to see baby Aeris!" Miguel proclaimed, and he must have lifted it off its stand, for suddenly the image zoomed clumsily forward. It was carried over to Infalna and then positioned so that it was focused intently on the bundle in the Cetra's arms. A small, pink face gazed curiously back up at it.

"Pause that," Cloud whispered, his face unnaturally pale and his heart beating fast. Miguel obeyed, and the image of the baby froze in its place. The mercenary could hardly breathe. "Is that..."

"That is Aeris," Vincent confirmed softly. Miguel stepped slightly back as Cloud walked towards the screen.

As he reached out to softly touch the image of the baby, Cloud felt a mixture of emotions well up inside his heart. He could feel her again... that was her... right there in front of him... she had been here... in this very room... so many years ago... and Cloud had never missed anyone in his life as terribly as he missed her. Tears stung in his eyes.

"Aeris..." he whispered. He could have stared at this picture of her as a baby for the rest of his life. It was the closest he would ever get be to her again...

Miguel was shaking his head regretfully. "They were so happy. And Aeris was such a special little girl. People would look at her and not help but feel good. Gast had originally brought Infalna to Icicle Inn to interview her, but that relationship blossomed into something extraordinary. They spent a good ten or so years here together before they finally decided to try their hand at parenting. In all that time, Gast and I still worked for ShinRa, but with no where near as much dedication. Every once in awhile, Gast would have to return to Midgar, to help with a small boy there. Sephiroth, I think. But he always came back to Icicle Inn to be with Infalna. I think he grew fond of that boy, for he eventually wanted a child of his own. Infalna did, too, and they conceived Aeris. They were very happy."

"But it didn't last, did it?" Cloud guessed, unable to look away from this picture of the girl he loved. "Nothing good ever lasts in this world."

"No kidding," Miguel agreed. "For not long after that, Dr. Hojo came with several of the ShinRa. They demanded Gast take Infalna and Aeris with them back to Midgar for study. Gast refused. So Hojo killed him and took the mother and child with him by force."

"The bastard," Vincent grumbled.

"They were all victims," Cloud whispered. "Aeris. Her mom. Gast. Even Sephiroth. They were all ShinRa's victims. Hojo's victims."

"No," Vincent shook his head. "Not Hojo. Just ShinRa."

"Hojo," Cloud insisted. "ShinRa didn't know what they were getting into. If anyone understood it all, it was Hojo." He finally glanced away from Aeris's picture to look at the former Turk. "You don't blame him for what he did to you?"

Vincent stared at the mercenary regretfully. "We all made mistakes, Cloud."

"He made it so that you could turn into a monster!" Cloud reminded him bitterly. He felt somewhat childish arguing like this, but at that moment, he hardly cared.

"But I was the one who loved his wife," Vincent said softly. "Lucrecia injected herself with Jenova cells because of me."

"And you paid for it," Cloud said, unsurprised by the revelation as he looked back at the screen. "Aeris never did anything wrong in her life, and she paid for it. Not to mention Tifa. And everyone else."

"If we don't stop it," Vincent agreed. "The entire world will pay for the mistakes of just a few. But that doesn't put any one person at fault, Cloud."

The mercenary shook his head, gazing at the one image he had left of Aeris. Of shortly after she had been born. And all he wanted to do, he thought, as tears stung in his eyes, was to go back. "I wish none of this had ever happened."

"Aye," Miguel agreed, looking down. Vincent nodded.

"As we all do," he whispered.

OOOOOOO

_You're gonna get sick,_ Tifa scolded herself as she walked through the town at its darkest of hours. She wore no coat of any kind to protect herself from the cold northern air. But then, she didn't _feel_ cold.

She had been assaulted by another nightmare, and so to escape all of that, she had decided to go outside for a short walk. It was turning into a rather long walk, but Tifa didn't mind. The town was too small for her to get lost in, even if it was dark out on the streets. And there was something comforting about the darkness. She felt hidden from cruel eyes that might be searching for her.

So it was like that when she rounded a street corner and saw a car's headlights. She watched, hidden in shadows as the car parked out on a curb. Its lights didn't turn off, for otherwise its occupants would have been blanketed by darkness. Several doors opened at once, and a group of ShinRa soldiers piled out, one of whom was the Turk, Elena.

And she looked about as miserable as Tifa felt.

She edged closer to the car, though careful not to reveal herself to them, as Elena quietly gave orders to the other soldiers. Tifa wasn't sure, but she thought she heard something about a quarantine beginning the next morning. The soldiers all saluted the Turk before they turned and headed out in various directions. Meanwhile, Elena headed towards the driver's door, which was open, as the driver had gotten out of the vehicle as well, and she climbed in to turn the car off. Then she hoped out, shut the door, and sank unhappily to the ground.

Telling herself she was making a huge mistake, Tifa nevertheless edged towards the woman. It was obvious Elena was in pain. But then again... who wasn't?

"Who's there?" Elena's head snapped towards Tifa as she sensed the woman approaching. She pushed herself up to her feet and watched suspiciously as Tifa walked towards her. And then a scowl formed on her face. "_You_!"

"Elena," Tifa whispered. "I just want to talk..."

"About what?" Elena hissed viciously. "About killing Tseng?"

Tifa barely had time to widen her eyes as she realized what she had just been accused of before Elena shot furiously at her. Tifa sidestepped, not wanting to fight, but not wanting to get attacked, either, and the Turk practically flew past her.

"No, Elena," Tifa held up her hands passively. "It wasn't us!"

Elena spun around towards Tifa furiously. "Oh, no? You have to deny it now? I went back to the Temple that day, and I saw you there! I had hoped Tseng had got out okay, but I knew better than to challenge you all by myself! When I got back with reinforcements, the Temple was gone! And somehow I knew..." There were tears in Elena's eyes now. "He's gone!" She lunged towards Tifa again, but the girl just jumped backwards, avoiding Elena's attacks.

"Stop this, please!" Tifa practically begged. "It wasn't us who killed Tseng! It was Sephiroth!"

Elena paused at that, and stared at Tifa with red, swollen eyes. "Sephiroth?"

Tifa nodded gently. "Yeah. The way he killed my father... and Aeris."

"The Ancient?"

Tifa nodded. "She was my friend. So I know how you feel."

"No," Elena shook her head in anguish and once again lunged towards Tifa, looking practically murderous. Tifa quickly stepped out of the way, and the Turk stumbled, falling heavily to her hands and knees. Tifa turned and looked down at her miserably as she suddenly began to cry.

"We weren't even given a chance," Elena whispered through her tears. When Tifa tried to sit down next to her, the Turk glared at her furiously. "I don't want your pity!"

"What about my comfort?" Tifa asked, drawing the Turk into her arms. She held Elena for a few minutes as the woman cried.

"I don't understand," Elena said after a few minutes had passed. "We're supposed to be on different sides..."

"We're both part of the same planet," Tifa told her. "So when the entire planet is in danger, is there really room for sides?"

Elena thought about that for a moment, but then shook her head. "We have orders to quarantine this town tomorrow morning. If I were you, I'd leave before then."

Tifa nodded. "Thank you."


	42. The Northern Crater

**Chapter Forty-One: The Northern Crater**

Before the sun had risen into the sky, Cloud and Vincent had rejoined Tifa in the motel, and she had informed them of the quarantine. They quickly woke their friends, and they gathered their supplies and quietly piled into the truck to leave.

And as Vincent drove them out of Icicle Inn, Cloud felt both a sense of regret and of foreboding. He was leaving Aeris's birthplace... something he discovered that was much more difficult to do than leaving his own home back at Nibelheim had been. He felt like it was the last tie he had to her life... and now he was riding away from it.

And what was worse... they were riding after Sephiroth. Heading north straight into what promised to be terrible danger. It had already cost Aeris's life. Cloud could only fear what they might lose next.

But every time he seriously considered asking them to stop, and turn around, he thought he could hear a whispering voice... a voice possibly from his very dreams... that beckoned him.

_"Come..."_

And he could not refuse.

Eventually, from the shelter of their truck, they watched as it began to snow. The hours passed, and the snow fell stronger. Before long, the truck was driving through a good foot of it as it piled up on the ground. And eventually their vehicle got stuck in that snow, and could no longer move either forward or backward.

So it was with great trepidation that Cloud led the group out of the truck. They all put on the heavy snow-gear they had bartered for earlier, and gathered together as much supplies as they could carry with them. There were no maps for the road ahead, and they all wondered what was in store for them.

The Promised Land?

Sephiroth had mentioned it. If they had to pass through treacherous lands covered in cold, frozen snow and ice, than it would be no wonder why the Promised Land was so hard to find. For what good could possibly be found through such desolation?

Tifa shivered as they all set out. It was snowing heavily, and the clouds above were so thick that no light shined down. Cloud held up the yellow Materia to brighten their path, but even so, it was hard for them to keep their eyes open when the snow beat against their faces.

And it was so cold... even in all their snowsuits, the wind was like ice and the snow was cold and wet. They found themselves walking up to their knees in fresh snow that glittered when the Materia shined down on it. It was a long, hard walk, and it never stopped snowing, so they hardly ever saw the sunlight. Days could have passed, and they would not have known it, were it not for Cait Sithe, who kept them updated about such information, since _he_ was actually all the way in Midgar.

Not that they minded, for with Cait Sithe's actual body being in Midgar, he was able to help them through this desolation in ways that none of the others could have. He told them when it was appropriate to stop and eat food, or when it was time to stop and find shelter so that they might rest. And when there was no shelter to be found, he helped them literally make their own shelter with the aid of the fir trees that surprisingly grew in that region, some of the Materia, and the actual snow itself. Cait Sithe was their clock and their calendar, in charge of their schedule and their routine for this part of their journey. He kept them going, when nothing else could have. So it was in this way that he began to pay them back for his earlier treachery. And it was in this way that they slowly crossed over the snowy fields and farther north, after Sephiroth.

Eventually, the snow stopped falling, and the clouds moved on. For the first time in what seemed far too long, the sun became visible, and they found themselves walking beside the shores of a frozen lake. And in the distance ahead of them, they could see mountains rising towards the sky.

It was nearing noon when they found themselves walking straight towards a small, sturdy stone house. It surprised them, for they would not have expected _anyone_ to be living way out here. But as they approached, a man dressed in a warm looking parka stepped outside and waved towards them with a friendly smile. They all waved back, and with renewed energy, they ran the rest of the way through the snow.

OOOOOOO

The man who lived in that stone house, and who immediately welcomed the group into it, went by the name of Holzoff. He had lived in that little house for the last twenty years, surviving off the meat of great and mighty creatures that he claimed roamed these parts. He was somewhat of a hunter, and his story must have been true, for he was quick to offer them some of that meat he claimed to have hunted.

For heat, he relied mostly on Materia, for he claimed the Mako energy through these parts were abundant. Which made sense, Cloud thought, if they were truly anywhere near the Promised Land.

Holzoff was a friendly old man... not what one would expect out of such a hermit. He claimed to enjoy the life he lived, free of civilization and the issues society dealt with. There were no laws here to follow, nor taxes to pay, nor obligations to meet. And he was not always alone, he assured them, for there were other migratory clans that made their homes in this wilderness as well, and whenever they settled near his home, they would come to visit. All in all, it was not a bad life, and he had forgotten long ago what it felt like to have bitterness in his heart.

"You see, you can't take things personally out here," he told them as he offered them drinks that none of them could identify, but found tasted both warm and sweet. "Or you'll never survive."

"Thank you," Tifa said, as he handed her a mug. He nodded with a smile.

"You're welcome to stay for the night," he assured them. "If you're headed for the mountain, you're going to have one hard time climbing it, and will need to regain your strength."

"Got no problem wit' that," Barret grumbled. They were all sitting in this man's kitchen as they shared in his drinks. Their snowsuits and other gear were all drying, and as they huddled together for warmth, they felt an actual sense of camaraderie that they had not had the time or energy to feel since leaving their truck behind. They were a group again. A team of friends who were close enough to be family.

Holzoff watched them thoughtfully. "What are you all doing up here for, anyway? If you don't mind my asking?"

"We're hunting down a fucking murderer," Cid replied as he stood and walked to a corner of the room to light a cigarette... only to have it snatched from him by his host.

"I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't do that in here," Holzoff said as the captain swore. "It's bad for you lungs, you know."

"Yeah," Cid fumed, but quietly. "What_ever_."

"You should know," Holzoff continued, turning towards the rest of the group. "You aren't the only ones to have passed this way. I've seen a lot of others... though none of them have been quite as sociable as you fine people."

"Who were they?" Tifa asked.

"Just a bunch of people wearing black cloaks," he stated thoughtfully. "Gave me a bad feeling. Something big is going down, and it certainly isn't any comfort that they're heading towards the Northern Crater."

"Crater?" Cloud stared at him in alarm. "We're heading towards a crater?"

"Yep," Holzoff nodded, but then he frowned at them. "You mean you're chasing down a murderer, and you don't even know where he's going?"

Yuffie glanced uncertainly at her friends. "I thought he was going to the Promised Land..."

"He still might be," Cloud replied, considering what he knew. The first thing that came to mind was that Holzoff had told them the Mako energy around these parts was abundant. He then thought of what he had learned in Icicle Inn. The Calamity from the Skies. Jenova. She had been found in a geological stratum of the planet. Could that have been in a crater? For a crater would have definitely been formed if something from the sky had struck down upon the planet. Wounding it... Wounding it enough for the planet's energy to come try and heal it... which would be why the area was abundant in Mako!

He glanced around at his friends in sudden realization. "Or, he could be heading to where Jenova crashed down on the planet!"

"The Northern Crater," Tifa whispered, coming to the same conclusion. "Where Jenova was found. But why would all of those people in those black cloaks from Nibelheim be going there?"

"Could it have something to do with Reunion?" Red Thirteen asked. "Sephiroth said Reunion would come, and Jenova would once again become a calamity from the skies."

"How's that work?" Barret demanded. "Jenova's already here! Can't crash down on the planet more 'an once."

"But something else might," Cloud said. "Something like Meteor."

"Damn," Cid groaned.

Holzoff was shaking his head. "Something tells me there's a lot more to all this than just a bunch of guys chasing a murderer. What's going on?"

"You don't want to know," Yuffie replied, crossing her arms. "It's _excruciatingly_ complicated."

Tifa glanced over at Holzoff. "What do you know about this Northern Crater?"

The man shrugged. "Only that there's an old legend that says something fell from the sky there a long time ago with such force that the land was literally pushed upwards and formed the mountains that surround it."

"So that's it, then," Cloud grumbled, crossing his arms. He glanced at his companions. "We can't let Sephiroth get there with the Black Materia."

"How much time would you estimate it would take us to reach the crater?" Vincent asked their host.

Holzoff shrugged. "If the weather's good and you guys are strong climbers, you should get there in about a day."

Vincent nodded and looked at the rest of the group authoritatively. "We should sleep now while we can and head out early tomorrow morning." No one jumped to disagree.

OOOOOOO

That night, Cloud lay awake under the warm blanket Holzoff had provided them each with. The others slept, and even Tifa seemed to be resting peaceably, for a change. They were all just so tired.

But once again, Cloud found that he couldn't sleep. Something big was happening. He could feel it and it was starting to scare him. Sephiroth was near. Jenova was near. They were all gathering... and Cloud didn't understand what it meant.

His thoughts once again turned to Aeris. And he wished more than anything else in the world that she could still be with him.

OOOOOOO

The next morning they bid Holzoff farewell and continued with their trek. He had given them more food and more of that strange, tasteful drink, and told them that his door would be open for them on their return. They were all exceedingly grateful.

It did not take them that long to reach the foot of the mountain. As it had been the door before, this day was a calm one, which was certainly a help. The hard part came with actually climbing the mountain, which would have proven impossible if it had been snowing.

Even Tifa, who often felt like she had been born to climb, found it difficult doing so in the snow. The way was steep, and it was easy to slip or fall into a drift, and then they would have to stop and help each other out. It was terribly dangerous, they all knew, and they counted on Materia to keep them from harm.

Eventually, they found themselves climbing past the tree line. And before long after that, the snow grew shallower, until it too was left behind. But the biting, freezing cold air did not lessen, and in fact, it only seemed to intensify.

At long last, they found themselves covering the final stretch of land separating them from the mountain's summit. When they finally reached it, they could see over to the other side, and what they saw caused their hearts to all lodge in their throats. They had known what was coming, but _no one_ could ever be prepared for such a sight.

They were standing on the edge of a great bowl that dipped down into the planet. There was no sign of life here, but they could practically see the Spirit Energy, which was a whitish blue color, trying to correct that. Even two thousand years later, the planet was still trying to erase the blemish that had been left here.

"An old crater," Cloud whispered. "Something fell out of the sky and crashed here... leaving a scar on the planet."

"It's still trying to recover," Vincent added. "But if Sephiroth uses the Black Materia to summon another Meteor, the wound won't be so small. In all likeliness, the planet will not survive."

"We have to stop him," Cloud said. The others agreed, and without hesitation, they started down into the crater. And in his mind, Cloud thought he could hear something laughing in patronizing amusement.


	43. Reunion

**Chapter Forty-Two: Reunion**

Even as Cloud and the rest of Avalanche made their way down into the crater, ShinRa approached by a much easier route. Through air. They traveled in the great airship, the Highwind. And those riding in it gathered outside on the deck to look down at the Northern Crater in incredulity.

Among the ShinRa, President Rufus, General Heidegger, Scarlet, and Dr. Hojo had gathered. And though the first three were ecstatic by their find, Dr. Hojo – though equally as impressed – managed to appear only mildly interested. After all, _he_ had retired, and was only back with ShinRa because he had somehow convinced them that they needed his expertise, and had them believing that _they_ were the ones who had 'convinced' him to participate in this expedition to what they figured _had_ to be the Promised Land.

"So," Rufus was saying as he gazed over the side of the ship and down into the crater. "I have finally found you."

Heidegger and Scarlet were opening a bottle of champagne and were preparing to share it in a victory celebration.

"We made it!" Heidegger was proclaiming in cheers. "The Promised Land that President Shinra so desperately sought after!"

"And I'm the one who gets it," Rufus said like a spoiled child. He glanced mockingly towards the sky. "Sorry, old man."

"This land is no one's," Hojo said coolly as he gazed down towards the crater from the safety of the ship's deck high up in the sky. "It is here that Reunion will take place. They will all gather here. And perhaps... perhaps we'll see Sephiroth."

Scarlet glared at him haughtily. "You sound so excited about something so dangerous. What is this to you, Hojo? A whale watch?"

Hojo glared at her, but did not respond. If only they knew...

OOOOOOO

Down inside the crater, the members of Avalanche had paused in their descending climb to look up into the sky at the airship that now levitated above them. The Highwind...

"Fucking ShinRa," Cid was scowling furiously. "That airship is more of a piece of me than even the Tiny Bronco was! They ain't got no fucking right to it!"

"What, did they steal it from you or something?" Yuffie asked.

"Steal it, confiscate it," Cid rolled his eyes. "Call it what you damn well please. The fucking point is they have it now and I don't!"

"Sorry Cid," Cloud said, looking back up at him. "But right now we've got something more important to worry about."

"Yeah, yeah," Cid waved a hand, and they continued heading down deeper into the crater.

And as they went, the coldness in the air around them began to ease a little. And then it eased a lot, until it was no longer cold at all, but warm. So warm, that the snow gear they had been relying on up until that point became unbearable. They had to take their snowsuits off. They did so quickly, their regular clothes having always been worn underneath. And as they did so, they each grew slightly more anxious with each passing minute.

When that was accomplished, they continued on until they at last came down to the bottom. They were near the center. As they approached, they began to make out a few forms that had been too far away to see at a distance. And even now as they drew nearer, the forms they saw were still hard to distinguish, as they knelt low to the ground and were wearing black cloaks.

Cloud recognized them for what they were right as Tifa did. She cried out in surprise: "They're those guys from Nibelheim! Holzoff wasn't kidding! They did come this way!"

Before the others could respond, Sephiroth appeared, seemingly by rising out of the very ground. He was holding the Masamune aloft, and was wearing a frown.

His sudden appearance caused Cloud and his friends to freeze in alarm, but he was too focused on the figures in the black cloaks to even notice Avalanche. They were bowing submissively before him, but nevertheless, he struck them down with the Masamune as if they meant nothing to him at all.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud shouted in horror.

The man slowly glanced up at the mercenary and his companions. His eyes were cold and hard, and not in the least bit amused. At that moment, he seemed slightly different than how they remembered him. As if he were stronger. And more dangerous than ever before. Whatever it was, his expression left the members of Avalanche frozen in alarm. His eyes... they were dripping with so much hate.

"This body fails me," he whispered. And suddenly he was gone, as if he had never been there at all.

But something else had been, for they all saw it drop to the ground beside the fallen bodies of those wearing the black cloaks.

"Where'd the fucker go?" Cid demanded.

"It was just a projection," Vincent realized, sounding both surprised and amazed. "All this time, he's just been projecting himself."

"What the hell does tha' mean?" Barret demanded.

"I've heard of projections," Red Thirteen shook his head. "They don't take solid form."

"Normal projections don't have Jenova's influence," Vincent replied. He glanced at Barret. "All this time, Sephiroth has been projecting a solid image of himself to wherever he's been."

"How can you do that?" Yuffie asked. "Some kind of Materia?" Vincent and Red Thirteen nodded.

"Damn," Cid shook his head in disgust. "So where's his _real_ body?"

"He's close," Cloud said, walking forward towards the fallen, shrouded forms. He walked until he stood directly where Sephiroth had been standing and looked down. He could easily make out the Black Materia. Sephiroth's projection had failed while he had still been in possession of it. But since the Materia was not a projection, it had not gone anywhere, but had fallen to the ground. Cloud slowly bent down, meaning to pick it up as the others approached him from behind.

But then, before he could, something in the mercenary's mind flashed. He straightened up painfully as his body grew tense and his head started to burn. A voice whispered in his mind.

"_Our purpose now is to deliver the Black Materia to our master."_

"No..." Cloud shook his head painfully, gritting his teeth as his friends rushed over to him in concern. But even as they spoke to him, he tuned them out, focusing on this voice inside his mind. _Our...?_

"_Yes," _the voice told him. _"We who carry Jenova cells within us."_

_Master...?_ Cloud shook his head furiously, fearing the answer.

"_Sephiroth,"_ the voice declared. Pain tore through his head, and he shouted out as his legs buckled under him. Were it not for Vincent or Barret who stood ready to support him, he would have collapsed.

"Why does this keep happening to him?" Yuffie demanded, frightened. But the others had no answer, and they could only wait until Cloud got a hold of himself again. The pain left, and he felt his strength returning.

He glanced around at his friends. "Where's the Black Materia?"

"I have it," Tifa said, bending down to pick it up in her hands. She looked over towards the mercenary. "Maybe it would be best if you didn't take it, Cloud...?"

"But Tifa, I don't want you having it either," he objected gently. "I don't want him to have any reason to focus on you." Tifa cocked her head at that, staring at Cloud both gratefully and suspiciously. But he was only being concerned... she could see the sincerity in his face.

"Damn it," Barret stepped towards Tifa. "Jus' give it ta me! I'll look after it." Tifa glanced at Cloud, and the mercenary nodded, so she handed the black orb to the Avalanche leader. Barret held it protectively in his one good hand and nodded his satisfaction.

"Don't give it to anyone," Cloud warned him. "We're all counting on you here, Barret."

The man nodded. "No one's getting this thing away from me."

"Good," Cloud turned away from them, then. "Because Sephiroth is nearby. The _real_ Sephiroth. And he probably isn't going to be happy that his projection failed and he lost his Materia to us. Not to mention Jenova... It's here, too... This is where the Jenova Reunion is supposed to take place."

"Jenova Reunion?" Tifa asked nervously.

"Hey guys," Yuffie stepped forward with a small, nervous smile. "Here's an idea... Let's take the Materia and get the hell outta here!"

"We can't," Cloud quickly shook his head. "We have to find Sephiroth now and defeat him. Or else he'll just come after it again." Yuffie pouted, but didn't object.

Cloud turned back towards the center of the crater. He could make out a tunnel that burrowed deep into the ground and realized that that might be where Sephiroth was hiding. He walked towards it, and the others followed. When they reached it, they found that the tunnel burrowed in at an angle, and was large enough for them to all walk down standing nearly upright, as if it were some entrance to a cave at the heart of the planet.

Cloud gripped the yellow Materia, which shone brightly in his hand. He glanced at each of his friends comfortingly before he started down the tunnel. Tifa was the first to follow, and slowly, one by one, the rest came as well.

It was like walking downhill inside the throat of some monster. It was cold, and it stunk, and all of them were growing more and more frightened of whatever lay ahead of them. But somehow they managed to press on.

Eventually the tunnel leveled out, and they found themselves emerging in a large open chamber. Nothing at all seemed alive down there, and they all had a sinking feeling in the pits of their stomachs.

"He should be in here somewhere," Cloud whispered through the darkness that was lit only by his yellow Materia. But suddenly, that changed.

There was a vibrant flash, and a moment later they all found themselves standing at the gates of a town most of them recognized. For all of them, save Cid, had been there before.

"Nibelheim!" Tifa whispered, rushing forward into the town. She turned around in a circle, taking in her surroundings in astonishment. It was like they were really there! She could feel a breeze on her face, and could taste the sunlight on her skin. When she turned towards Cloud and the others, who were all watching her in astonishment, she almost expected to see the fields that surrounded the town behind them. But she didn't. She could see the tunnel extending back up to the crater's surface. Her heart clenched. "Cloud! This isn't real!"

Her friends were slowly walking towards her, farther into the town. Cloud glanced over his shoulder and noticed the same thing she did. The tunnel was still behind them. This whole thing was an illusion.

"What the _hell_ is going on?" Cid demanded in complete frustration. "Where the _fuck _are we?"

"This is Nibelheim," Vincent said thoughtfully. "A perfect likeness."

"Why would he bring us here?" Yuffie squealed, covering her mouth with her hands.

"He didn't," Cloud said. "We're still inside the crater. This is an illusion."

"But _why_?" Tifa demanded, tears stinging in her eyes. "Is he trying to torment us?" He hadn't tormented those people in the black cloaks. He hadn't tormented any of his other victims. Why was he doing this to them?

"I wonder how he's doing it," Red Thirteen said, looking around at the town that was, aside from them, devoid of all life.

"Probably through Jenova's influence," Vincent theorized.

"Who cares?" Tifa asked as she listened to a door opening behind her. "I want him to stop." She turned to see an image of Sephiroth walking out of an inn. There were several ShinRa guards with him. Cloud stepped next to her to watch what he instantly recognized as a replay of the events of five years ago. Sephiroth led the guards away from the inn and towards the mountain behind the town. If the illusion portrayed the rest of the memory correctly, Cloud thought, then _he_ himself should be walking out of that inn at any moment.

But it wasn't him. The door opened and another man walked outside. He was tall and powerfully built. His hair was jet black and his eyes had the glow of someone from SOLDIER. On his back, he carried Cloud's Buster Sword. But he wasn't Cloud...

Tifa recoiled at the sight as if she had been pushed. A sour taste filled her mouth, and she realized she was on the verge of being sick. Pushing it down, she could no longer control her tears, and they rapidly poured down her face.

"Tifa...?" Cloud and the others all turned towards her in alarm. She was shaking her head slowly, as if in denial. Cloud stepped towards her in concern. "It's just an illusion. He's trying to confuse us."

_You sound so confident,_ Tifa thought sadly, covering her mouth with her hands. But before she could respond, the town literally erupted with flames. Tifa and Yuffie both let out small screams as the force of the sudden eruption pushed them all violently in various directions and onto the ground.

Tifa looked up in horror and found herself reliving a nightmare. Sephiroth was standing before several people with his Masamune drawn, and he quickly slew them. She screamed. "Sephiroth! _Stop this_!"

Cloud scrambled towards Tifa. The others were slowly getting back on their feet, taking in their surroundings in nervous alarm, but the mercenary was pretty confident that they weren't fooled by this illusion. Tifa, on the other hand... He could tell that this seemed real to her. And that frightened him. When he reached her, he saw that she was staring up towards the Shinra Mansion.

"Tifa!" He forced her to look at him. "Listen to me! This isn't real!" She was shaking her head, trying to look back at the mansion, but he moved in-between it and her, blocking it from her view. The flames were roaring loudly in their ears, making it difficult for them to hear each other.

But Tifa was shouting at him over the noise. "Please make it stop! I don't want to watch this! We shouldn't watch it!"

"It's just an illusion!" he promised her. She kept shaking her head, and he grabbed her roughly by her arms. "Tifa! Don't let it get to you like this! It's just a lie!" As if to prove his point, he turned and looked up at the Shinra Mansion. He saw the same black haired man from before running out of it in utter horror.

"No..." Tifa backed away, her tears making it hard to see anything at all. But she could see this. It wasn't Cloud... It was Zack...

"Sephiroth!" Cloud shouted angrily through the fire that surrounded them. "I know you're listening! And I know what you're trying to say! So you can stop this now!" He had to end this. For Tifa... He had never seen her like this before. But the fire kept raging violently around them. So Cloud went on: "I get it! You're trying to tell me that I wasn't in Nibelheim five years ago!"

Immediately the fire died, and the illusion faded away. They were in the cave inside the crater again. Barret, Red Thirteen, Vincent, Yuffie, Cait Sithe, and Cid all started, surprised, and they slowly backed away in nervous apprehension. Tifa was still in tears, and now she fell to her knees as Cloud towered protectively over her, staring angrily deeper into the cave.

Sephiroth was there, walking towards them. Now he looked pleased. "I see you finally understand."

"I understand," Cloud nodded furiously. "You're trying to confuse us with lies. I know the truth. I remember it! I was in Nibelheim five years ago, and you know it!"

"Is that so?" Sephiroth demanded in cold, harsh amusement. "You are just a puppet. You have no heart, no feelings, no pain. How can there be any meaning in the memories of such a being? What I have shown you is reality. What you remember is the illusion. Do you understand?"

"Forget that," Cloud grumbled. He shook his head. On the ground behind him, Tifa was struggling to get control over herself again, and Cloud had never felt more anger on her behalf before. He glared hatefully at Sephiroth. "Why are you doing this?"

Sephiroth regarded him coldly. "I want to take you back to your real self. The one who gave me the Black Materia that day."

Cloud's eyes widened in sudden alarm. Uncertainty swept through him as he remembered all too well the way he had been forcibly bent to this man's will. He had given Sephiroth the Materia. He had almost killed Aeris himself... He couldn't imagine living like that permanently, and nothing else in the world frightened him as much. He shook his head, and would have backed away, were it not for Tifa behind him.

A small, twisted smirk formed on Sephiroth's lips. "You've done very well for me in the past. Who would have ever thought a failed experiment would prove so useful? Hojo would die if he knew."

"Hojo?" Cloud questioned. He had never met Hojo before the incident at ShinRa Headquarters. What did Hojo have to do with it...? But then... A memory burned through his mind.

"_Yes! You were a part of SOLDIER! What else do you remember?"_

"Five years ago," Sephiroth told him. "You were, put simply, constructed by Hojo after Nibelheim was burnt. A puppet made up of vibrant Jenova cells, her knowledge, and the power of Mako."

Cloud hesitated, staring up at the man before him uncertainly. Everyone behind him, his friends, his allies, listened in astonishment. But even then, none of them truly believed Sephiroth. In fact, the only one who seemed the least bit convinced that it was not all a lie was Tifa. She looked up at Sephiroth in pure terror.

He continued, staring down at Cloud coldly. "An incomplete Sephiroth clone. Not even given a number. That is your reality."

"Stop it!" Tifa screamed. She scrambled clumsily to her feet and pushed herself in-between Cloud and Sephiroth, looking desperately up into the mercenary's eyes. "Cloud, please don't listen to him! Don't listen..."

"Tifa," Cloud stared at her in concern before glancing back up at Sephiroth. The man was staring down at the girl intently, for no one was denying that _she_ had been there. Cloud took her arms in his hands again and slowly turned with her, putting himself once again between her and Sephiroth. "It's okay, Tifa. I'm not."

But she was shaking her head miserably. "It's all a lie... I remember everything... I remember you and when we were kids... we were kids together... I remember the stars that night seven years ago... I reme-"

"Tifa," Cloud firmly interrupted her. "Please don't be afraid."

"Why don't you ask yourself _why_ she's afraid?" Sephiroth asked. Cloud glanced back at him hatefully as he leisurely approached the two of them. His attention turned from the boy to the girl. "Answer that, Tifa."

She shook her head and pressed closer to Cloud, obviously terrified. But Sephiroth wouldn't relent.

"Why do you cry?" he demanded. "If your memories are so true, and if Cloud seems to believe them, then why do such lies affect you so?"

"Leave her alone," Cloud glared furiously at their tormenter. He turned back towards the girl in his arms. "Tifa. Listen to me." She looked up at him hesitantly, and he held her protectively. "I know sometimes I doubt myself. There's a lot about my past I can't remember clearly. But I do know this. We grew up in Nibelheim together. We made that promise and we were both there five years ago. You have to believe that."

"No..." Tifa broke away from Cloud, and stumbled backwards, covering her face in her hands. "I... can't..."

"Tifa...?" Cloud gazed after her in concern before looking back at Sephiroth. He seemed pleased, and turned towards the boy with false pity.

"Don't blame Tifa," he said gently. "Jenova has the power to change everything. To create illusions. And to reveal the truth. The memories you think you have were created through the memories of others, like Tifa. They merged with Jenova, and yours were created out of that. Hojo injected those memory-filled cells into that lifeless body which you now walk in. _You_ were never Cloud. _You_ were never even given a name."

"Sephiroth," Tifa looked desperately up at him. "Please stop this..."

"No," Sephiroth did not look away from Cloud. "He belongs to me. Because he was _created_ in my image. And I would have him the way he was meant to be. As a mindless clone."

"So you can kill him like you killed the others?" Tifa demanded. Cloud glanced back at her quickly. _Did she really believe this?_

Sephiroth smirked. "They had grown useless. Besides." He glanced at Tifa cruelly. "There are worse things than death."

Tifa flinched as her own words were thrown back at her.

Sephiroth turned back towards Cloud. "Now. Try to remember, if you truly have any memories at all. What was it like when you joined SOLDIER? Were you initiated? Was a party thrown in your honor? Tell your friends what it was like."

Cloud hesitated, for his mind automatically drew a blank. He frowned, and glanced down. _What was going on? These are things he _should_ remember..._

Sephiroth nodded. "I didn't think so."

OOOOOOO

Outside the cavern, the airship lowered towards the crater. A rope ladder extended down, and one by one, Rufus, Scarlet, Heidegger, and Hojo climbed out. And, upon close inspection of the crater's actual surface, they realized that there were bits of Materia mixed in with the soil!

"This is incredible!" Scarlet declared, awestruck. "There's Materia everywhere!"

"The atmosphere is rich in Mako energy," Rufus said thoughtfully. "And the ground is a treasure grove of Materia. This is truly the Promised Land."

"There is no such thing as the Promised Land," Hojo snapped in sudden irritability. All three of his companions glanced at him in surprise, and he crossed his arms haughtily. "It doesn't exist. Can you possibly imagine _this_ is the Promised Land? It is a crater formed by a creature who wants to destroy the planet! And it's the _Promised Land_?" His voice turned sarcastic. "Can't possibly see the irony in _that_."

Suddenly, the entire crater shook with terrible violence. All four companions lost their balance and ended up on the ground. Scarlet look up in alarm. "What was that?" The tremor ended with her question, and they cautiously rose to their feet.

Hojo's face paled considerably. "It could only be... But I didn't believe in it... It... actually exists?"

"What does?" Rufus snapped angrily.

"The Weapon," Hojo whispered. "When the planet is in danger, several monsters that it created for its own defense will appear. And they will destroy everything to rubble protecting its charge."

"How do you know that?" Heidegger demanded.

Hojo smiled cruelly. "I heard it from Professor Gast."

OOOOOOO

The planet's tremor had caused Cloud's yellow Materia to completely burn out, and they were blanketed in darkness even as they were flung violently across the chamber in several different directions. And Cloud, as he was thrown down, felt his Materia fly free from his grip, and it instantly vanished somewhere out of his reach.

Not too far from where he lay, he could hear all of his friends crying out in alarm, or just cursing their rotten luck. But before he could call out to them, something darker than the cavern itself pulsated through the chamber, and then everything was silent, and Cloud felt alone.

OOOOOOO

Barret sat up, confused by the sudden silence surrounding him. The tremor had died, but now he thought that he was alone. He frowned. "The _hell_?" He pushed himself to his feet and looked around. It was too dark to see anything. "Guys...? Where the hell are y'all?"

"Barret?"

"Tifa!" He spun around and could see her standing a few feet away from him. _How_ he could see her in this friggin' darkness was _beyond_ him, but at least she didn't look like she had been hurt. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "But I think everyone else is in trouble. I can't find them. They won't answer."

Barret frowned, his hand tightening furiously around the Black Materia he still held in his possession. "Something seems funny 'bout this." _How had she stopped crying so quickly? She had been so upset..._

"Tell me about it," Tifa agreed. "Come on." She beckoned for him to follow. "We have to find Cloud!"

"Yeah," Barret agreed with _that_ much. They needed to find Cloud, and fast.

OOOOOOO

Tifa awoke with a start and a burning headache. But as soon as her eyes opened, she was practically blinded by the sudden light. _How did she get outside?_

Not far away, she could hear other people speaking. Another woman. From ShinRa? She opened her eyes and saw Scarlet standing over Cloud. He was on his hands and knees, shaking his head in obvious perplexity. Not far away, Rufus, Heidegger, and Hojo were watching the mercenary in surprised interest. Especially Hojo...

"Where did you come from?" Scarlet was asking.

Cloud glanced up at her, and then at the others surrounding him. Not once did any of them look at Tifa. He shook his head. "Don't know."

Tifa sat up in alarm as Cloud pushed himself onto his feet. "You guys better get out of here now. Things are going to get a little rough, and you'd best let me handle it."

Rufus glared at him in offense. "Excuse me? I have no idea what you mean."

Cloud glared at him resentfully. "This is where Reunion is going to happen. Everything begins and ends here."

Tifa felt her body begin to tremble. Why weren't they looking at her? She got onto her knees. "Cloud!"

He either ignored her or couldn't hear her. None of them even glanced in her direction. Her heart began to race. _What was going on?_

"Cloud?" Barret suddenly came scrambling out of the tunnel, looking around wildly for the mercenary. When he saw ShinRa, however, he hesitated with a furious scowl. "Damn."

"Barret," Cloud shot towards his friend. "Forget them! Are you okay? Where are the others?"

"They're probably still inside!"

Tifa watched in horror as a girl crawled out after Barret. That girl was... _her_! Cloud glanced at the other Tifa.

"Tifa!" He scrambled towards her in concern. "Are you okay?"

"Cloud!" Tifa screamed, pushing herself to her feet. "Cloud!" She made to run towards him, but something cold and ethereal caught her round her waist. It held her back no matter how hard she fought against it. She screamed, but no one heard her. Something flowed into her mouth, cutting her scream short and choking her. And then she panicked. She couldn't breathe and could barely move. Tears of fear and frustration poured down her face.

"I'm fine," the other Tifa assured Cloud, glancing with apparent nervousness at Rufus and the other ShinRa. "But the others must still be inside!"

"Damn," Barret grumbled.

Cloud spun towards the leader of Avalanche in sudden alarm. "Barret? Do you still have the Black Materia?"

"Yeah," he held it up in confirmation, and Rufus and Hojo's mouths both practically dropped open. Barret shifted uncomfortably. "To tell you the truth, I kinda don't like the pressure carrying this thing gives me."

"Then give it to Cloud," the other Tifa said immediately, her voice filled with certainty. Both men glanced at her in surprise.

"Tifa," Cloud hesitated, shaking his head slowly. "I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, you said it yourself."

"We don't have time for this," the other Tifa warned them. "It'll be easy for Sephiroth to get something from Barret if he doesn't want it! We've seen the kind of illusions Jenova can create!" As she said this, she glanced subtly in Tifa's direction. And Tifa saw the malice and amusement in her double's eyes.

_Don't do this! Cloud!_ Tifa struggled uselessly against the strange force that both held her back and suffocated her. She cried furiously. _Cloud! Stop it!_ She felt so helpless...

"Fine," Barret nervously handed the Black Materia to the mercenary, who accepted it with equal apprehension. But they both trusted Tifa's judgment.

"What the _hell_ is going on here?" Rufus demanded.

Cloud stared down at the Black Materia in his hand. He felt... strange... He hardly heard the ShinRa President's question at all. Something in his mind flashed. _Wake up!_

He saw Sephiroth standing in front of him, extending his hand out towards him patiently... expectantly... _"There, Cloud. We're almost there."_

He heard himself talking, but he didn't know why he was saying the things that he was. "The Jenova Reunion. It drew us all here... Where Jenova waited for us with Sephiroth."

_Cloud!_ Tifa struggled uselessly, but the ethereal energy that held her began to sting, and it was all she could do not to scream in pain. The other Tifa continued to watch her in cruel amusement.

Hojo's eyes were alight. "This is perfect! It means that my experiment was a success after all! A Sephiroth Clone made it to Reunion!"

Cloud glanced at Hojo in surprise. "But I was a failure... You said so yourself."

"Perhaps," Hojo glared at him in distaste. "But there are others." He gestured cruelly to the bodies of those in the black cloaks that Sephiroth had slain. "The clones felt the call, and they followed it!"

"I don't understand," Rufus crossed his arms impatiently.

"Five years ago," Hojo explained. "When Sephiroth had died, President Shinra wanted one clone. But I made many. This one," he gestured savagely towards Cloud. "He was a failure. In fact, all the others were imperfect in some way, but none so much as him." He shrugged. "Anyway, the theory was that all those with Jenova cells in their systems, namely, the clones, would one day feel compelled to return to that which was the source of their cells. Namely, Jenova herself. And now I realize, Sephiroth does not want to just diffuse his will into the Lifestream. He wants to manipulate his clones as well."

Cloud felt his heart pounding and his mind racing. Was that how this all started? Something in his ear began to buzz.

"It has started," the other Tifa said in amusement. Suddenly she faded, as if she had never been there at all. Barret spun around in shock, as did Rufus, Scarlet, and Heidegger. But Cloud and Hojo were too distracted to notice the girl's absence.

Tifa felt the hold on her lessen, and suddenly she was free. She landed heavily on her hands and knees with a cry.

"Tifa!" Barret ran towards her. "What the hell happened ta ya?"

"Cloud!" Tifa screamed, pushing past Barret towards the mercenary. She stopped in front of him, but he didn't seem to see her or hear her, even now. "Cloud! Snap out of it!"

"There was so much I didn't understand," Hojo said to himself. "The only thing I really knew at all was that in the end, the Reunion would lead to Sephiroth."

"So that's it," Cloud said thoughtfully, his glowing eyes beginning to glaze over. Tifa stared at him in alarm, but he could not see her. "I wasn't pursuing Sephiroth. I was being summoned by him."

The Materia in his hand began to glow black. Tifa glanced down at it in horror.

"Cloud," she grabbed his hand and fought to pry the black orb loose. But his fingers would not let go of it. She wasn't strong enough. With surprising ease, the mercenary pushed her away from him and started walking across the center of the crater. Tifa stumbled, and once again found herself on the ground. She gazed helplessly after Cloud. "Please don't..." Barret knelt down beside her as they all turned to watch Cloud.

He stopped several yards away from them and stared blankly ahead. "I've come, Sephiroth. Show yourself to me."

The ground shook beneath them, and suddenly a piece of the crater burst towards the sky like a geyser. Debris flew everywhere, and Barret grabbed Tifa protectively in his arms as the ShinRa all backed away in alarm. Cloud did not move. He didn't even blink.

There was a huge, blue, transparent slab of what looked to be Materia towering over the mercenary. Inside, Sephiroth hung suspended, like a creature caught in blue amber. He was naked from the waist up, and appeared to be unconscious.

So that was why he had to project himself out into the world, Tifa thought miserably. Because his real body was caught here like this.

Cloud gazed up at him reverently. "So we finally meet again, Sephiroth."

Hojo was ecstatic. He could no longer hide it. "He's here! It's Sephiroth!" He looked wildly around at his companions. "Do you see? He's here, and his plan is going to be a success! This is perfect!"

Tifa stared up at him as if he were insane. "What are you so happy about, professor? Don't you know what this means? Cloud has the Black Materia! He's going to give it to Sephiroth! Meteor is going to be summoned and every single person on the planet is going to die!"

Rufus stared at Tifa in alarm. "What?"

"_Come, Cloud,"_ Sephiroth whispered into the mercenary's mind. _"We are so close. You're doing well. Give it to me now."_

Cloud stepped towards the blue slab of Materia, holding up the black orb. Sephiroth's hand reached up as well, and extended towards the mercenary. Cloud submissively placed the orb into the other man's palm.

"_Good boy."_

"Cloud!" Tifa shrieked. The ground began to shake violently again. The Weapon!

"Whatever I say," Rufus muttered, looking for the first time regretful. "Is too little, too late." He glanced around at his companions. "We must evacuate."

Heidegger and Scarlet immediately made towards the ladder reaching up for the airship. Hojo followed at a more leisurely pace.

Rufus turned towards Tifa and Barret. "I want you both to come with me. There is much that I want to hear."

"Are ya outta ya mind?" Barret demanded, holding Tifa back as she struggled to go after Cloud. "We can't leave our friends behind!" They were all still down there... beneath the ground.

"We don't have much time!" Rufus insisted. "Your friends are out of your hands! All you can do is protect yourselves!"

"Cloud!" Tifa screamed, breaking free of Barret right as the ground quaked yet again. She stumbled and fell, slamming her head against the crater's surface. She moaned slightly, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu as darkness surrounded her.


	44. Aftershock

**Chapter Forty-Three: Aftershock**

"_Cloud..._

"_I didn't know what to do..._

"_I didn't want it to happen this way..._

"_I was always like that..._

"_I'm sorry..."_

_She had found him lying in a ditch so many years ago. He was half dead, practically in a coma. There had been several other people surrounding him, but she had pushed her way through them all, telling them that she knew him and had to get him care. So she had brought him home..._

_To her uncle's home. Her home was Nibelheim, and she had lost it. Cloud had been the only thing she had left of her home, and he was probably dying. But she wouldn't allow that. She had cared for him... Treated him... Until he became well again..._

_But something was wrong. She had tried ignoring it, but that night when he had related their pasts to Barret, Aeris, and Red Thirteen, she realized she couldn't ignore it anymore._

"_Because, Cloud... There was something strange about the things you talked about. All the things you didn't know that you should. And other things that you shouldn't know but did. You became a mercenary, and several years passed. And then I heard that you were leaving. That you probably wouldn't be coming back. And I didn't want that. I didn't know what to do and I thought I needed more time. By that point, I had already run away and had started the Seventh Heaven. So I set you up with the Avalanche job. Because I wanted more time with you. I wanted to be with you... To watch you..."_

OOOOOOO

Tifa woke up silently and motionlessly. She didn't open her eyes, but she was aware and alert, and knew right away that she was conscious. The problem was, she didn't know where she was or what had happened. So she listened.

There was one other person in the room with her. Whoever it was kept walking around the room as if in circles, not speaking, but apparently restless. And Tifa immediately knew who it was. She could recognize the way Barret walked anywhere. So she opened her eyes and sat up.

"Tifa!" Barret was immediately at her side. She glanced at him and quickly noticed that he looked like hell. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he looked utterly exhausted, and not to mention a nervous wreck. But upon seeing her awake, his eyes lit up in sudden joy. "Are ya okay?"

"Yeah," she said as he grabbed her shoulders and gently turned her towards him so that he might better inspect her. She felt groggy, but other than that, she felt fine, and surprisingly well rested. But then she felt her arm stinging.

She groaned and looked down at her arm to see a bandage on it. "Okay. What happened to me?"

"They've been injecting nutrients in ta ya," Barret explained. "Ya've been unconscious for over a week, Tifa!"

"That long?" she asked, all the while wondering _who_ had been injecting nutrients into her arm. "Where are we?" She glanced around and saw that the room they were in looked suspiciously like a science laboratory. And what was worse, the table she lay on looked suspiciously like a lab table. And she was dressed in a blue hospital gown! She instinctively grew tense as she waited for Barret's response.

"Junon," he told her.

"What?" Her voice was soft, but exasperated, even though she had known something like it had been coming. They were in ShinRa's care. At the back of her mind, she remembered Rufus offering to take them aboard his airship. _Had Barret actually _agreed_ to that?_

"How did we get here?" she asked. "What happened?"

"What happened," he spoke slowly, his voice sounding terribly miserable. "Is that at the Northern Crater, you fell during one of the earthquakes, and landed unconscious. An' that got me stuck. I couldn't very well _carry_ you back in ta that damn cave, but I couldn't jus' leave ya in Rufus's hands. I was responsible for ya. So I had no choice but to get ya on ta his airship. An' he had the thing take off immediately."

Tifa trembled, fear beginning to slide down her back and into her stomach. "What about the others?" Cloud... Red Thirteen... Yuffie, Cid, Vincent, Cait Sithe! Though Cait Sithe, she probably didn't have to worry about. He was, after all, just a toy. But the others...

"I don't know, Tifa," Barret shook his head regretfully. "We watched the crater from the back of the ship as we retreated. There was this _huge_ flash of light. According to Rufus, it's been there ever since. Like a barrier, surrounding the entire crater and keeping people out of it. An' Sephiroth sleeps inside of it, knowing that it protects him by keeping everyone else out, an' there's not a damn thing we can do about it!"

"But what about-"

Barret interrupted her. "There's a chance the others got out before the barrier lit up, but I don' know for sure. It's jus' as likely that we're the only two who made it."

Tifa felt her eyes fill with tears. And then she hated herself. Why was she always crying? Couldn't she do anything better than that?

"Tifa," Barret glanced at her hesitantly. "It gets worse, ya know." Damn, he hated seeing her cry!

"How much worse?" she asked, fearing the answer.

Barret replied with the greatest of reluctance. "There's a Weapon on the rampage. It was what caused them damn earthquakes back up at the crater. Supposed to be protecting the planet, but it might as well be protecting Sephiroth for all the damage its doing around here. Damn thing's going 'round tearing shit up." Barret hesitated, continuing with even _more_ reluctance. "Rufus's actually proving to have the balls to fight it. Hate to say it, but he's doing good, trying to kill it before it kills everyone on the planet _for_ Meteor."

"Meteor," Tifa's heart sped up considerably, and she stared at Barret in pure dread. "Was it summoned?"

Barret nodded. "It's coming for us. Slowly, maybe, but it can be seen in the sky, like a big friggin', glowing comet o' some 'tin. Gets a little bit closer every day."

"Then we lost," Tifa whispered, despair washing over her. Her eyes stung as she wrapped her arms around her stomach, wishing she had _anything_ other than a hospital gown to wear. The last time she had hit her head and woken up in ShinRa's care, she had lost her home. This time, she had and was going to lose something a lot worse. Her friends... an entire planet... "Do we just... give up now?"

"Dunno," Barret shrugged sadly. "Jus' seems like so much. Wasn't that bad when there was nine of us. But now there's just you an' me. Up against Meteor, which has _already_ been summoned... Don' know how ta stop it."

"Are we locked up in here?" Tifa asked, looking back over towards her companion. "Weren't we invited?"

"Yeah, well," Barret scowled hatefully. "Tha's wha' ya get for trusting the damn ShinRa."

Tifa looked away from him then and closed her eyes, trying to think. Were they really the only ones left? And ShinRa's prisoners, as well? Meteor was coming... how can you stop something like that? Sephiroth had won. They were all going to die... And if Meteor didn't kill them, then they might as well be dead, for Sephiroth would take all that power and become a supreme being or something. And living with that _would_ be worse than death... But there was nothing they could do to stop it. All they could do now was wait. Her body began to tremble.

"I don't want this," she whispered. Barret didn't say anything, but just wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. They sat like that for awhile, not moving or saying a word.

The laboratory door slid open after a moment and three women dressed up in white nurse uniforms entered, pushing a rolling cart with them. On the top of that cart were several bottles filled with liquid supplements, a syringe, and other medical supplies. But when they saw Tifa, they stopped short in surprise.

"Oh!" one nurse scrambled forward as Barret and Tifa pulled apart and glanced at the intruders expressionlessly. "You're awake!"

One of the other nurses glanced at the third. "Go and inform the doctor that his patient is awake." The nurse nodded and scurried back out the door as the first nurse walked up to stand beside Barret.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"I don't want to be here," Tifa told her softly, looking down. "I want out of Junon. Now."

The nurse's face hardened and she frowned. "You aren't fit to be traveling anywhere, Miss Lockheart."

"Why can' Tifa be the judge o' that?" Barret demanded coolly. The nurse looked up at him and her face paled slightly in intimidation.

"How can she judge anything?" a man dressed in a white lab coat walked into the room with the third nurse. "She just woke up. She needs to go through a thorough examination before any of us can say for sure how fit she is. In case you've forgotten, she had a mighty hard hit to her head." He glanced down at a clipboard he was holding. "And what's worse. It's not even the first time she's suffered a head injury."

Tifa's face blanched as she stared at the clipboard in his hands. "What did you say?"

The doctor smiled patronizingly at her. "Come, come. It's all in your file. You were a citizen of Midgar, Miss Lockheart. Your uncle works for ShinRa. We possess all your records."

Tifa didn't know why, but that thought upset her, and she drew herself up into a ball on the lab table she had yet to get off of.

"You have nothing to fear from us," the doctor told her smoothly. "We are only looking out for your wellbeing. Now. About that examination. Can you stand up?"

"I'm not going to do anything for you," Tifa said quickly, glancing at Barret in alarm. But he reached out and touched her hand.

"Tifa," he told her softly. "Like it o' not, they've got a point. We don' know what condition you're in until you test yourself. An' we need to know before we try any 'ting."

Tifa hesitated, then reluctantly pushed herself off the table. Immediately she felt lightheaded, and her legs trembled under her weight, but nevertheless she was able to stand.

The doctor nodded in approval even as she stared back at him in mistrust. He turned towards the nurses. "Someone bring a wheelchair. We'll take her down to do a few exercises."

"Why can't we do exercises in here?" Tifa demanded, backing up towards Barret, who watched everything suspiciously.

"Well, for one," the doctor replied with a shrug. "You may need some serious physical therapy, Miss Lockheart, and we don't have the equipment in here. Besides. Wouldn't you like to change your clothes and perhaps get into a bathtub?"

Tifa hesitated. He was trying to manipulate her. She could sense it, as could Barret, and there wasn't anything they could reasonably do about it. It made her feel helpless and vulnerable, and these ShinRa employees were enjoying it. Meteor was coming to kill them all and they still hadn't changed one bit. It was disgusting.

She didn't say anything as a nurse entered with a wheelchair. She stood behind it in the door, watching Tifa expectantly. But Tifa shook her head. "I can walk." As if to prove her point, she took a couple of steps towards the door. She felt lightheaded, but she ignored it. She was stronger than that! And she would prove it.

The doctor shook his head slightly and glanced at the nurse. "Bring it just in case." He then turned towards Barret. "I expect you want to come with your friend, Mr. Wallace, but I'm afraid the President has made arrangements to stop in and speak with you soon. You should wait here for him."

"Yeah?" Barret asked softly. "Screw you." But he made no motion of following Tifa. She glanced back at him nervously, and he gave her a small smile of encouragement. "You'll be fine."

She nodded, wondering why there was a hole forming menacingly in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong... _Aeris..._

An image of Sephiroth stepping off that column with his Masamune drawn, falling towards the Cetra in order to kill her, flashed through Tifa's mind. She grimaced as her head started pounding. The nurses took her gently in their hands and urged her from the room. The doctor followed, shutting the door and locking Barret inside. And Tifa had a terrible feeling that she would never see him again.

"No," she turned back towards the room he was in. "Barret!"

The nurses' hands tightened on her arms, and they held her back. Tifa screamed, trying to tear free, but they wouldn't let go of her. The doctor turned towards her menacingly as she shrieked and fought against them.

"You can stop that," he told her sternly. "The door is sound proof. He can't hear you."

Several ShinRa guards walked around a corner and headed straight towards Tifa. She screamed and suddenly squatted down low. Caught off guard, the nurses all lost their grip on her, and she swung one of her legs out, kicking them away.

But the guards were already on her. She screamed louder as four of them all reached for her. Two were tightly holding her arms and wrists while one caught her by her waist. She struggled uselessly as the last one grabbed her feet. They held her like that as the doctor pushed the wheelchair towards her.

Only now did she notice that there were several straps on it. Dread flowed through her as the guards picked her up and carried her over to it. But no matter how hard she fought, she quickly realized it was useless. They forced her into the chair and expertly started to strap her wrists and arms to the chair's armrests, and then her ankles to the footrests. One strap was buckled around her waist like a seat belt.

If Tifa had felt slightly helpless before, now she felt _completely _and _utterly _so. Tears stung in her eyes as she stared up at the guards, nurses, and the doctor, all of whom had stepped back to study her critically.

The doctor was shaking his head. "Honestly, Miss Lockheart. It isn't going to be any easier for you if you keep fighting this."

"Why are you doing this?" Tifa demanded, looking down at the straps holding her to the chair. She started struggling furiously against them, causing the chair to move. The doctor quickly stepped behind it and grabbed its handles firmly, steadying it.

"It should be obvious," he told her in mock gentleness. "This is your punishment."

Tifa felt like she was in a nightmare. Punishment? One of the nurses walked forward with a syringe.

"Please don't!" Tifa felt herself trembling as she tried to push away from that nurse. But there was no where for her to go. She could barely move and was helpless to stop the woman as she pressed the needle into her arm.

Tifa screamed as a strange sensation washed over her. A moment later, she was unconscious again.

OOOOOOO

Barret paced nervously back and forth as the minutes ticked by. He was a wreck. And he was worried about Tifa. Damn. He should _never_ have let them take the girl without him!

Suddenly the door opened again and Barret found himself facing several ShinRa guards. A moment later, Rufus himself entered the room with him. The president looked like he hadn't slept in days, but other than that, he was his same old cocky, arrogant self.

"Shit," Barret rolled his eyes. "Heard you'd be coming."

"Yes, well," Rufus nodded, crossing his arms. "I couldn't very well miss this, now could I? I heard the girl was awake. How is she?"

"Don' know," Barret grumbled bitterly. "She was carried off by your damn medical staff. I should be asking _you_ tha' question, an' not the other way 'round."

"Oh, I'm sure she's fine," Rufus said haughtily. "For now."

Barret felt his entire body tense, and he stared at the ShinRa president in alarm. "The hell does tha' mean?"

"It means," Rufus said slowly. "That I am here to bid you a final goodbye, my friend. Before the day's end, both you and the girl will be punished for the summoning of Meteor."

"Wha?" Barret wasn't sure he understood. But then his face turned red. "You can't be serious!"

"Of course I'm serious," Rufus assured him. "Meteor approaches, and the people of this world are frightened. And ShinRa plans to take every step necessary to reassure them. And even though, essentially, it's all but over now, the people will feel better if there is someone to blame, and someone who is punished for it."

"So tha's gonna be me an' Tifa?" Barret demanded furiously.

Rufus nodded. "But please, Mr. Wallace, don't sound as if we've betrayed you or anything. We're only looking out for you. Killing you now, you won't have to suffer through the planet's final days as the rest of us will. In a sense, you can view this as your last final task to bring the people some peace of mind. You'll be doing everyone a favor."

"No!" Barret held up his gun arm and aimed it directly at the president. Immediately, his bodyguards stepped between them, and aimed their own weapons at Avalanche's leader.

"Those guns are armed with tranquilizers, Mr. Wallace," Rufus told him calmly. "You won't be fighting your way out of this one. And if you don't want to get knocked out only to wake up strapped down to a bed with that gun of yours literally pulled from its socket, then you had better behave yourself."

Barret felt his body shaking in complete rage as he lowered his weapon. He'd be no help to Tifa if Rufus decided to carry out that threat. But even still, he was _pissed off_ like he had never been before. "Where's Tifa?"

"Undergoing preparations for her execution," Rufus replied casually. It was like he executed people every day. He smiled cruelly. "Don't worry. You'll see her again. I'll be sure to provide you with a screen so that you can watch her die."

"Don't you _dare_ hurt her!" Barret threatened. "Look, if you wan' a scapegoat, use me!"

"We will be using you."

"But leave Tifa alone!" Barret was an inch away from falling to his knees and begging. "She's never done anything wrong in her life!"

"Maybe," Rufus considered that with a shrug. "But that fact alone makes this all the more enjoyable."

"Bastard," Barret glared at him hatefully. "Why go through all the trouble of treating her like ya did, if ya were jus' planning on killing her?"

"Because," Rufus replied as he turned from the prisoner. He started out of the room. "It isn't nearly as effective if she's not awake."

The ShinRa guards followed Rufus out and the door slammed shut behind them. Barret was locked in alone and helpless.

OOOOOOO

When Tifa woke up, she sensed someone on top of her. Her eyes opened immediately as she lashed out furiously...

Only to find that there were _several_ people around her. Her wrist was caught before she struck anyone, and forced savagely down onto another armrest. Tifa quickly looked around her to find that three men were working to strap her down into another chair. Her feet were already bound, as was her left arm. And now they moved to strap down her right one.

"Stop it!" Tifa screamed as she fought. But like before it was useless.

Scarlet entered the room with a small scowl on her face. "Will the three of you hurry up? There are still a _lot_ more preparations that must be made!"

One man glanced over at his shoulder, and then up at his two companions. "I'll finish here. The rest of you can help Scarlet." The two other men nodded and followed the woman out of the room. Tifa realized it was a small, square, steel room, with no windows or furnishings of any kind other than the chair that she was being strapped to. However, there were several pipes on the walls and ceilings, each of which broke off to point into the room, or more specifically, directly at the chair Tifa was on. They were all covered with valves, and they gave her a sinking feeling.

"This is a gas chamber," the man informed casually her as he reached down towards her waist and bucked another strap around it. "In case you haven't guessed, they plan on executing you. In front of live television, no less. You're going to be famous."

He looked up at her, and there was a light in his eyes that sickened her. She wanted to draw away from him, but was helpless to. He grabbed her face in his hands and pushed it back against the chair. She felt as he took another strap in his hands and strapped her head in place.

"Can't have you giving yourself another injury," he explained as he did this. "You're going to be awake for it, and since it's going to be an _excruciatingly _slow process, we don't want you hurting yourself to end it quickly."

Tears stung in Tifa's eyes. She could barely move tied down as she was, and as much as she hated giving in to ShinRa, she knew she couldn't hide her fear. She stared at this man desperately. "Don't do this..."

But the man seemed to be enjoying every minute of it. "It's okay if you're scared. After all, it's going to hurt, and we've gotten very good at drawing it out to make it last as long as possible." His hand slowly reached up to touch her face, and then he pressed it firmly against her cheek. "It's a shame, really. You have a pretty face. Hate to see it all deformed like it's going to be."

Tifa closed her eyes, wishing for this to go away. But it didn't. For suddenly, she felt his mouth pressed against hers. Her heart started speeding up, and she struggled uselessly against him. But he just pressed closer.

"Hey!"

Suddenly the man was off Tifa and a good five feet away, looking embarrassed and alarmed as another man entered the room in obvious fury. Tifa instantly recognized him. It was Reno...

He was glowering at the man who had attacked the woman. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?"

"I'm sorry, Reno," the man said, glancing down, knowing he had been caught doing something he shouldn't have been doing.

"Get out of here, now," Reno said softly in a threatening voice. The man instantly obeyed, scrambling away from the Turk and the prisoner.

"Reno..." Tifa looked up at him hopefully. "Please help me..."

He glanced at her then, and walked over to her. They studied each other for a moment, and Tifa dared hold her breath.

But then he was on top of her, with his mouth pressed against hers like the other man's had been. And yet, before Tifa had time to feel her hope drain away, something was pushed into her mouth. A tablet? At the same time, she felt something sharp prick her skin before it was slipped between her wrist, hand, and the armrest, hidden from view, but in reach of her fingers.

And then Reno pushed away from her, staring down at her purposefully. "Don't swallow that tablet unless you absolutely can't get out before the gas starts spraying. It'll kill you in a matter of seconds."

Tifa stared at him in surprise, instinct telling her to spit the pill out of her mouth immediately. But... if this execution was supposed to be long and painful... it might be a mercy for her to have it. She tucked it underneath her tongue. "Thank you."

"Not doing it for you," Reno shot back quickly. "Doing it for Elena. This whole execution thing was Scarlet's idea, and Elena hates that broad. Besides, she wanted to thank you, or something like that, for something that had to do with Tseng."

Tifa noticed his face had softened considerably at the mention of the female Turk. But she didn't say anything, and could only watch as Reno turned and stalked out of the room. Left alone, all Tifa could do was get a firmer grip on what she realized had to be some sort of knife that Reno had slipped to her. And as she did so, it struck her that she was waiting for her life to end.


	45. Regrouping

**Chapter Forty-Four: Regrouping**

"Damn it!" Barret pounded the door with as much strength as he could muster, but to no avail. He spun around, looking for anything that could help get him out of the room. But there was nothing. And with each passing minute, he feared that something terrible could be happening to Tifa. And he was helpless to stop it.

OOOOOOO

"Well now," Scarlet walked into the gas chamber with three other men and someone who looked like a teenager wearing sunglasses, a large hat, and a scarf round her face. Tifa stared at that teenager with a frown, but then her attention was drawn back to Scarlet, who towered in front of her.

"It's almost time," the ShinRa employee told her as the people behind her began setting up a bunch of cameras. Scarlet crossed her arms. "You're going to be broadcasted everywhere. Are you excited?"

"Not exactly the word that comes to mind," Tifa muttered glumly, all the while fingering the blade that Reno had given her, hoping Scarlet didn't notice it. But then, that woman's head was screwed on too tightly for her to notice much of anything.

"I guess not," Scarlet allowed with a malicious smile. "But just so you know, everyone else can't wait for this to begin. Your friend, Barret Wallace, least of all."

"You know, when Meteor crashes," Tifa shot back. "Maybe it'll land on your head."

"Well, at least I'll still be here to find out," Scarlet replied. She pressed a finger thoughtfully to her lips. "Maybe you'll still be alive too. This is a slow process, you know. It'll take a long time for you to wither away."

The teenager from the camera crew suddenly looked up at Scarlet and bounced away from the others. "Miss Scarlet. Is there a bathroom?"

Tifa frowned even as the ShinRa employee whirled towards the kid in distaste. _There was something familiar about that voice..._

"It's just done the hall!" Scarlet snapped. "You can't miss it! And make sure you don't get lost!" The kid saluted and bounced out of the room.

Scarlet turned back towards Tifa. "It's almost time."

OOOOOOO

Yuffie pulled the sunglasses, hat, and scarf off her face and tossed them onto the bathroom sink. She _hated_ leaving Tifa like that, but the only reason she'd made it this far into such a high security military complex was by sneaking in with the camera crew, and this had been her first chance to get away from them. She needed to find Barret now before she could attempt rescuing the other girl.

She snuck back out into the hallway and looked both right and left. The path was clear. Smirking, she raced away from both the bathroom and the gas chamber. She had no idea where Barret was, but she knew-

Someone caught her wrist as she was passing by an open door and pulled her into the room. She squealed only to watch as the door closed, and was about to attack whoever had grabbed her, but stopped short when she saw who it had been.

"Cait Sithe!" she hissed. "What're you doing?"

"_You're_ supposed to be with the camera crew," the cat, still perched atop his moogle, pointedly reminded her.

"Their every move was being watched by Scarlet!" Yuffie shot back. "An' that woman's a pain in the ass!"

Cait Sithe rolled his eyes. "_Tell_ me about it! Come on." He had his moogle hobble back outside the room and Yuffie followed closely. He glanced at her with a wink. "I know where they're holding Barret!"

OOOOOOO

"We're finished, ma'am," one of the camera men told Scarlet. She nodded and glanced back to see three cameras angled in different spots around the gas chamber. She clapped her hands in satisfaction.

"About time," she said, turning towards Tifa. "Don't worry. We aren't going to start the gas _quite_ yet."

"Go to Hell," Tifa told her coldly.

"I'll see you there," Scarlet replied. She turned towards the camera men. "All right. That's it. Get out!" They scrambled away from her and she followed as they all left the room. Turning, she slammed the chamber's door shut as hard as she could and punched a number into its electronic wall panel. The door automatically locked, and Scarlet, with a smile, turned from it and walked down the hall.

OOOOOOO

"Let me out!" Barret shouted as he aimed his machine gun of an arm towards the door and prepared to fire. But before he could, the door suddenly slid open!

Not one to waste an opportunity, Barret charged forward. Too soon did he find himself plowing into a skimpy teenage girl!

Yuffie practically screamed as she was thrown into a wall with Barret's arm pulled up against her throat and his other aimed right up into her face. "Stop!"

"Yuffie!" Barret jumped backwards and gawked at her in surprise. He quickly noticed Cait Sithe a few feet away and he frowned. "The hell ya'll doing here?"

"We _were_ gonna save your little butt!" Yuffie snapped angrily. "But if that's the way you're gonna treat us, than you can just forget it!"

"But _how_?" Barret demanded, looking back and forth between the two. "Thought I'd seen the last o' the two o' you!"

"Can't get rid of us _that_ easily," Cait Sithe replied arrogantly as he crossed his arms and nodded his head.

"It was incredible!" Yuffie told him, practically jumping up and down in excitement even as she squealed in a high-pitched, fast-paced voice. "There had been a small cave in back up at the Northern Crater, and we couldn't get back out to you! So Vincent turned into this _huge_ monster! And he literally _dug_ us out of that cave through both the mountain _and_ the snow! We-"

"Don't got time for that!" Barret interrupted. He turned around in a complete circle, unsure of which way to go. "We gotta find Tifa!"

"This way!" Cait Sithe urged, manipulating his moogle down the hallway. Yuffie immediately shot after him, and though Barret followed, he did so with a _lot_ of reluctance.

"Ain't ya a part o' ShinRa?" he demanded.

"Yeah," Cait Sithe admitted. "But you gotta understand... I got this thing against capital punishment. Besides. I heard it was Scarlet's idea. I _hate_ that ugly wench."

Before Barret could reply, an alarm suddenly went off. All three of the companions stopped short in surprise and several red lights flashed on and off in the hallway, and a loud siren screamed around the military complex.

"That can't be good," Yuffie muttered.

An intercom went off. "Emergency! Emergency! Weapons approaching! Attention all Military Personnel! Take your positions!" The message repeated a couple of times as Barret, Yuffie, and Cait Sithe all glanced at each other nervously.

"This good o' bad?" Barret questioned.

"Well," Yuffie considered it for a moment. "It's good if it distracts ShinRa from executing Tifa. But I'd definitely see a down side to it if it kills all of us."

"Come on!" Cait Sithe shouted. They continued to race down the hall. They had to turn several corners before they reached the gas chamber. And all three of them felt their hearts sinking when they saw that the chamber's door had already been closed.

"Can ya open it?" Barret demanded as Cait Sithe jumped towards the wall panel. He pressed a series of numbers, but without any luck.

"It has to be someone personal code," the cat told them sourly. "It won't open!"

"Damn," Barret grumbled. _Where was Jessie when you need her?_

"What are we gonna do?" Yuffie squealed. "We have to get Tifa out of there!"

"We have to find Scarlet," Cait Sithe replied logically. "If anyone has the code to open this door, it'll be her."

OOOOOOO

Inside the gas chamber, Tifa frantically sawed at the strap over her wrist with the knife Reno had given her. She could feel it starting to come loose, but she feared it wouldn't be in time.

_Hurry!_ She felt her hands shaking as urgency began to suffocate her. She needed to get out!

OOOOOOO

"What's the situation?" Rufus demanded as he strode into the control room where Heidegger and several other officers had gathered. There were several technicians as well, sitting at various computers and in front of different radars as the General and the President gathered in front of a large observatory window.

"It's Weapon, sir," Heidegger said simply. But Rufus could see that.

In the distance, there was a large monster careening towards them from the sky. It looked almost like it was related to the dragons from legend. It was long, like a giant serpent, and a beautiful mixture of white, blue, and purple. It was the largest creature Rufus had ever seen, and easily the most magnificent. It was wild in its fury, and beautiful in its grace. If Rufus hadn't been absolutely certain that there was no controlling the Weapon, he would have sought for a way to imprison it and keep it as his own.

As it was, the Weapon could not be imprisoned. It had a job to do. Protect the planet and destroy everything else in sight. And now it looked like it was coming for Junon.

"There's been so many attacks," Rufus grumbled. He glanced at Heidegger. "Can we handle it?"

"I believe so," Heidegger nodded. He glanced at the president in formal courtesy. "Your orders?"

"No need to ask," Rufus waved formality aside. "Destroy it."

"We'll blast it out of the sky with the Junon Canon," Heidegger said, almost gleefully. He glanced around at the technicians and officers awaiting his command. "Open canon doors! Activate canon! Target: Weapon!" There was instant activity as Heidegger's orders were carried out.

Several minutes later, a technician glanced at the General. "Preparations complete."

Heidegger nodded. "Then fire."

OOOOOOO

The Junon Canon was possibly the largest of its kind. The shot that blasted forth from it was violent, loud, and utterly brilliant. No one could look at it as a wave of energy exploded into the air, rocking the entire city and causing several large waves in the ocean to surge as if in a maelstrom. There was enough power there to completely annihilate the entirety of Midgar, and _then_ some.

But the Weapon, like a dragon intent on laying the city to waste, was not intimidated by the blast, and continued forward with a terrible, trumpeting roar. Its eyes practically shone red.

OOOOOOO

"That's impossible!" Heidegger's head was practically spinning as the Weapon tore right through the canon's blast as if unfazed by the attack. "We hit it dead on!" But it was still approaching Junon.

"Try the canon again," Rufus demanded.

Heidegger shook his head. "It'll take some time to get the canon ready for a second shot!"

Rufus shrugged that aside. "Get it ready. And use regular fire power in the meantime."

Heidegger nodded, preferring that order. He looked back at the men under his command. "Open all artillery doors! Target: Weapon! Don't let it land!" His men immediately jumped to obey.

OOOOOOO

Meanwhile, Barret and Yuffie followed Cait Sithe as he led them frantically down several corridors and into various rooms, most of which proved empty. There was no sign of Scarlet anywhere.

"Damn it Cait Sithe!" Barret shouted, coming to a stop as they entered yet another empty room. "This isn't helping Tifa!"

"You think I don't know that?" Cait Sithe shot back in frustration. He glowered at the Avalanche leader. "I want to save her as much as you! But unless we find Scarlet, I don't know how!"

"Why don' we jus' tear down the friggin' door?" Barret demanded.

Cait Sithe crossed his arms. "Like you were able to tear down the door of the room that imprisoned you? Ain't gonna happen."

"Guys," Yuffie said, standing by a window and staring outside in concern. "That thing looks like it's _really_ pissed."

Barret and Cait Sithe were at her side by the window in an instant, staring out. The Weapon was in the air suspended over the city as several other machine guns and ShinRa weapons fired furiously at it. The monster was shrieking in pure rage, and looked like it could attack at any moment.

"Damn," Barret whispered.

Cait Sithe glanced up at him and then towards Yuffie. "Get him to the ship! It's gonna be close, so you best get ready to escape while you can! I'll find a way to get Tifa out!"

"The hell?" Barret spun around towards the cat in bewilderment. "What are ya on about? What ship?"

"Cid's ship!" Yuffie replied, grabbing Barret's arm. "Don't worry about Cait Sithe! This is his third body. His second one is still with the others! He's gonna be just fine!"

Barret frowned and glanced down at the cat. "How many fucking bodies can you have at once?"

Cait Sithe smiled in amusement. "As many as I like." His amusement quickly evaporated. "Now go with Yuffie! Trust me, okay! I'll find a way to save Tifa!"

"Yeah, you'd better," Barret warned as the teenager urged him out of the room and back into the hallway. They split up then, making their way off in two different directions.

OOOOOOO

The knife in Tifa's grasp finally cut through the strap. Her arm was free! Breathing a sigh of relief, Tifa quickly unbuckled her other arm, and then her head, waist, and finally her feet.

She stood up slowly, still a little lightheaded. Her legs shook, and her body felt weak. But she ignored that as she stumbled over to the chamber's door. She looked desperately for a way to open it.

But she couldn't find a single button, much less a door knob. This chamber was meant to lock people in so that they could die. Tifa realized she was going to be no exception.

"Damn it!" she pounded weakly against the door, but with no effect. Was this it then? Was she really going to die?

Tears filled in her eyes as she sank to the ground in defeat. Everything seemed so surreal. It felt like a dream... Maybe she was still in a dream... Maybe she had never woken up at all.

"Cloud..." she whispered. "I want to see you again..." Her tears slowly fell down her face.

Suddenly the entire chamber shook loudly. Tifa cringed as she was violently propelled across the room. It was all she could do to hold her hands out in front of her to avoid hitting her head again.

She glanced around her in fear. What had happened?

There was no intercom in the gas chamber. So Tifa, unlike everyone else in the military compound, was completely unaware of the fact that Weapon was attacking.

OOOOOOO

Scarlet was furious as she stormed into an abandoned control room on an entirely different level of the base than from where Rufus and Heidegger were. Her face was practically as red as her name.

"All I ask is for a few hours of enjoyment," she grumbled as she walked over to a computer and started pressing several buttons furiously. "But can I get them? No! Of course not! That _damn_ Weapon has to show up and spoil all the fun! Well it isn't going to ruin _my_ day! Rufus can take care of that monster! _I'm_ going to watch that girl _die_ even if it's the _last_ thing I do!"

The computer screen connected with the cameras in the gas chamber and Scarlet watched as the images focused on the chair. But it was _empty!_

"The hell?" Scarlet pressed a view more buttons on her keyboard, staring at the screen as she commanded the cameras to turn on their stands and sweep around the chamber. There!

Scarlet glared at the image of the girl steadying herself on her hands and knees after that last violent quake. She looked utterly frightened.

"Stupid girl," Scarlet grumbled. "Don't know how you got out of that chair, but there's no way in hell you're getting out of that gas chamber!" She smiled wickedly as she pressed a few more buttons on her keyboard.

OOOOOOO

Tifa got onto her knees and wrapped her arms around her stomach in helpless fear. It felt like the world was falling apart!

A strange sound suddenly filled the chamber. Tifa looked around in alarm, searching frantically for its source. It sounded suspiciously like some kind of substance or other shooting through a pipeline.

Gas suddenly sprayed out from the valves. Tifa screamed as it showered on her like cold, acidic smoke.

OOOOOOO

Scarlet was laughing in utter delight as she watched the girl scramble back towards the door and pound on it furiously. The girl was screaming and crying, oblivious to the amount of gas she was breathing in as she fought helplessly to escape it. But there was no where for her to go, and Scarlet was enjoying every minute of her torment.

OOOOOOO

"Let me out!" Tifa shrieked as the gas rained down on her. It was thicker than she had expected, and felt like acid on her skin. It was starting to burn.

The chamber shook again, and Tifa fell to her knees. Already she could barely breathe. She started coughing.

This was it. She was going to die. Numbly, she thought about the tablet Reno had given her. But when she felt for it, she realized it was gone. She must have spat it out when the chamber had so violently shaken.

Even more tears filled in Tifa's eyes. Now, not only was she going to die, but it was going to be the slow painful process Scarlet had threatened her with! Tifa began to panic.

OOOOOOO

Above the city of Junon, the Weapon let out a fierce shriek and opened its mouth. And like a dragon, fire sprayed from it and rained down towards the city unmercifully. It collided into the military complex, and there was a violent quake in the ground as the pursuing explosion ripped several walls from their foundations and sent them careening in several directions.

OOOOOOO

Tifa screamed as an explosion literally ripped the gas chamber's ceiling cleanly off. Debris came flying at her, and she huddled into a frightened ball, desperate to protect herself from the rubble.

Her ears were suddenly assaulted by a barrage of violent noise. Not only was the gas spraying around her, but now it sounded like guns were being fired and she thought she could hear some monster shrieking outside and above her. What the _hell_ was going on?

Tifa glanced up and saw that something had put a decent sized hole in the roof. She could see the sky outside!

Hope hit her in her heart like a mace, but the gas was still raining down on her and she was still breathing it in, so she knew she was still in danger. She had to get out!

She scrambled to her feet and climbed up on the chair. Hope gave her strength that she hadn't possessed earlier, and now she was reaching towards the ceiling with a new determination. She was _going_ to make it!

OOOOOOO

Scarlet screamed in fury as the cameras followed the girl and watched her struggle to climb out the hole that the Weapon had so conveniently placed in the gas chamber. How was this possible? _What_ were the chances of _this_?

Scarlet sprinted away from the computer and out of the room. The girl would _not_ get escape!

OOOOOOO

Tifa found herself climbing out onto the roof of one of the buildings of the Junon military complex. It was warm outside, but the first thing that came to her mind at that moment was that she could breathe again! Air!

She fell to her knees and breathed it in as if it alone gave her life any meaning. One thing was for sure... she would _never_ take oxygen for granted again!

But once Tifa had caught her breath, she realized that that had been the _least_ of her worries. For up here on the roof, she had a clear view of _everything_ that was happening.

For one, there was in fact a monster flying through the sky like a dragon. Several guns were firing at it even as it sprayed fire at the city from its mouth. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, and yet at the same time, the most violent.

Tifa pushed herself to her feet as she stared at it. The Junon Canon was not too far away, and she could sense that it was powering up, preparing to fire at the monster. She wrapped her arms around herself in growing apprehension as she turned back to look into the sky. For something else had caught her attention.

Suspended above her, and above the monster that she was now beginning to figure _had_ to be the Weapon Barret was talking about, there was another, even _more_ terrifying image in the sky.

It looked like a giant, amber colored, glowing sphere that was bigger than even the sun. Tifa immediately knew what it was. Meteor.

Her heart began to race as she stood motionlessly on the roof, taking all these things in at once. The wind picked up and brushed against her, which caused her to shiver. It was the middle of the afternoon, but suddenly Tifa was freezing cold. She was still only dressed in a blue hospital gown, and she didn't even have anything on her feet. She felt like she was in the middle of all of this chaos, facing it _alone_. Her tears stung in her eyes again. She had escaped one gas chamber, but had walked into something that was now resembling a torture chamber.

"Cloud," she whispered. "Where are you?"

"Going somewhere?"

Tifa spun around in alarm to see Scarlet herself climbing out onto the roof. And that woman looked _pissed_. She pulled herself up, and as soon as she had righted herself she stepped towards Tifa, drawing a gun. Tifa tensed.

"You think you can escape?" Scarlet demanded angrily. "Our little game ends here you stupid girl!" She pointed the gun at Tifa.

Suddenly, the Junon Canon let forth another violent blast, shaking the entire planet, or so it seemed. Both Tifa and Scarlet were thrown down practically onto their faces. In the distance, they heard the Weapon let out a shriek of utter rage. One shot from the Junon Canon might not have hurt it, but a second one certainly did. But then, the Weapon had not been so close to the Canon the first time around. This time, the shot had practically been point blank, and the monster found itself being torn to pieces by the power of the blast.

Scarlet looked up in triumph. "Hey! They did it!"

But Tifa wasted no time for such celebration. She shot furiously towards the other woman and slammed the palm of her hand into Scarlet's face. Then, she rammed her knee up into the woman's stomach. And then to top it all off, she shoved the woman furiously back onto the ground. Scarlet landed in a heap, struggled for a moment to stay conscious, but then relaxed completely as all awareness left her.

Somewhat satisfied, Tifa turned away and wondered what she was going to do now. How was she going to get out of Junon? More importantly, how was she going to get off this roof?

But then, as if in answer to her prayers, she thought she could hear the roar of several engines directly behind her.

Tifa spun around and saw a sight she would never likely forget. The Highwind, the airship that had brought her to Junon from the Northern Crater, had lifted off the ground and was flying towards her! And even from where she stood, she could see both Barret and Yuffie on the deck waving at her.

Yuffie!

Tifa felt tears sting in her eyes again, but for the first time, they were tears of joy. Yuffie was onboard! That meant the others could easily be alive too! They had survived! And they were coming for her!

The airship flew above her, and a rope ladder was tossed down. Tifa grabbed it and began climbing up as whoever was piloting the ship turned it round and navigated its way out of Junon.

On the deck, Tifa was met by Barret's warm, protective arms. She couldn't stop crying as he sat her down and held her close. They had made it! They were leaving Junon in an airship and they were all alright. Tifa could not think of when she had ever been happier in her life, and yet, even now, all she could do was cry.

"Barret!" Yuffie was shouting. "Let me see her! I'm gonna be getting motion sickness at any moment now and I'd like she see Tifa _before_ I feel the urge to puke!"

Tifa laughed as Barret let her go and allowed Yuffie to wrap her arms around her. A moment later she heard the familiar sound of a giant toy moogle hopping towards her. She broke away from Yuffie to see a frantic Cait Sithe approaching.

"Tifa!" The cat dove from the moogle and into the woman's arms. "You scared me half to death! I spent the last half hour down there in another one of my bodies looking for a way to save you, and here you escape by yourself! What's _wrong _with you?"

"Leave her the hell alone!" Barret pulled the cat away from Tifa and threw him at the moogle. "Wha's wrong wit' _you_?"

"Tifa!"

The woman looked round once again to see Red Thirteen prancing towards her in utter delight. His ears were perked up and his tail was aloft, and Tifa barely had time to kneel down and embrace him before he completely plowed her over.

"I'm so glad to see you, Nanaki," Tifa whispered as she held him close. She could hear him purring in complete bliss.

When Tifa next glanced up through her tears, she saw Vincent standing not too far away. He was leaning against the rail of the airship with crossed arms, and he was wearing a pleased smile. When he saw her looking at him, he inclined his head in greeting.

A door that led into the pilot's helm opened and Cid walked out backwards, still addressing whoever it was inside. "Get it right o' I'll fucking throw ya overboard!"

Tifa's smile broadened as the captain turned towards her. She stood up facing him. "I guess you're the one I need to thank for picking me up back there."

"Thank?" Cid's face darkened. "Jus' get your ass outta those ShinRa rags an' that'll be thanks enough!"

Tifa glanced down and realized he was talking about her hospital gown. The captain walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her in a fond embrace.

"Ya had us worried to hell, kid," he told her.

"I'm sorry," Tifa whispered as he let her go and stood back a few feet.

"There's no reason for you to apologize, Tifa," Vincent said, glaring at Cid. The captain shrugged.

"But I don't understand," Tifa said. "How did you guys escape the crater? How did we get this airship?"

"The Highwind always belonged to me," Cid declared immediately. "The only people who know how to fly it belong to _my_ crew, an' they never did like ShinRa command. They were only too happy to commandeer the ship after I snuck aboard and asked them to."

"As for the Northern Crater," Yuffie pitched in helpfully. "Did you know Vincent can turn into a big old monster?"

"Yes," Tifa nodded.

"Well," Yuffie hit the palm of one hand with the fist of another. "He did, and he practically tore his way under the mountain back towards Holzoff's house! We escaped that way, and not a moment too soon, because as soon as we were out of there, that freaky blue light barrier thingy surrounded the crater. We barely made it."

"At least ya are all safe," Barret said. "Tha's the important 'ting. I mean, come on! We got ourselves one hell of an airship! ShinRa's gonna pissed off when they find out! One Weapon's down! And Meteor can just go ta Hell, 'cause we're together again and we're gonna find some way ta stop it once an' for all!"


	46. Persistence

**Chapter Forty-Five: Persistence**

Apparently, Tifa had been changed into the hospital gown while she had been unconscious on the Highwind, for shortly after they had put a decent amount of distance between them and Junon, one of Cid's crew members had walked up to her with her own clothes in his hands. He told her he had never gotten around to throwing them away, and now he was glad about that, because it looked like Tifa needed them back.

And so she had slipped away from the attention of her friends and found a bathroom build inside the airship. But before she put her old clothes back on, she stepped inside the shower.

At first, it was difficult for her to handle listening to the water in the pipelines. It reminded her too much of the gas chamber, and she _knew_ she'd be having nightmares of that in the future.

But then she felt the warm water on her skin, and somehow she was _finally_ able to relax. For in the shower, as she began to wash her body with a bar of soap, for the first time in what felt far too long, she finally felt a sense of cleanliness the kind of which she had forgotten.

And yet, even as she washed away the dirt and grime from her body, reflections of what had happened over the last few weeks flowed violently through her mind. And once again she found herself in tears.

The seven of them were together again... But Aeris was still gone, and Cloud was missing. And no matter what Barret said... Tifa needed Cloud! If she was going to help save the planet from Meteor, she felt she _needed_ him! He was all that was left of her home... of her past...

She pictured Sephiroth. She could hear his words. _"You were never Cloud. You were never even given a name."_

But even if Tifa believed that, she still had her memories. They might have been broken... fragmented... But she still remembered that night at the well seven years ago. Under the stars with Cloud, and his promise. To come rescue her when she was in trouble. That had been real. Hadn't it?

The bar of soap fell from Tifa's hands as her heart started racing. Were her any of her memories reliable? She remembered that it had been Zack in Nibelheim five years ago. Not Cloud. But at the Reactor that night... after Sephiroth had left her for dead... she had dreamt of Cloud.

Cloud had insisted he had been there. Tifa was certain that he hadn't been. And yet, she had dreamt of him... What if all her memories of him were dreams? And he was just sharing them?

_"The memories you think you have were created through the memories of others, like Tifa."_

_Memories? Or dreams...?_ Tifa wasn't sure. She wasn't sure of anything anymore. For all she knew, every single word Sephiroth had spoken that day had been the truth. What if Cloud had never been a part of her childhood at all? What if all of her memories of him had been created by Jenova?

"I don't care..." she whispered. She stood motionlessly in the shower as water poured down on her and she repeated those words. "I don't care..."

It didn't matter if Cloud was just a clone of Sephiroth! Tifa didn't care about that! And if her memories weren't real, she didn't care about _that_ either! The only thing that mattered to her at _that moment_ were her _feelings_! It was what she _felt_ that was important, wasn't it? And she _felt_ that she couldn't live without Cloud! She wanted to be with him! That was why she had set him up with the Avalanche job in the first place! She didn't want him to go away and leave her!

But then, he had left her. Or rather, she had been taken from him. Barret had taken her onto Rufus's airship, and they had left him in the Northern Crater with Sephiroth. And the others that they had left... Cid and the rest... they had escaped without Cloud. And now Tifa had no idea if she would ever see him again. She didn't even have his gray Materia, for she had given it back to him!

Meteor was coming. There were Weapons on the rampage. And Cloud wasn't there to tell her that everything was under control! He wasn't there to lead them, as he had been doing ever since ShinRa had destroyed sector seven! How were they supposed to keep persisting without him?

Tifa was on the verge of completely breaking down. She was on an airship with her friends, and she was in a warm shower, completely safe, for the time being at least, from harm. And now that she was finally starting to feel clean, even now she couldn't stop from crying in anguished frustration.

Who would see them through this, now that Cloud was gone? The end of the world was coming, and Aeris, the only one who seemed to know how to stop it, was dead, and Cloud, the one who was so full of stubborn determination to stop it, was as well, as far as they knew. And even if he was still alive, for all Tifa knew, he could still be in Sephiroth's thrall. Tifa could still remember him handing their enemy the Black Materia. She could still _see_ it.

Armageddon was near. The world was in chaos. And Tifa had no idea where Cloud was in all of it. And it caused her to cry.

OOOOOOO

Aside from Tifa, who they knew was in the shower, and Cid, who had returned to the pilot's helm to navigate the airship, the rest of the seven companions had gathered outside on the deck.

Barret was sitting on the ground not far from where Red Thirteen lay. Cait Sithe for once was no perched on top of his moogle, but sitting on the ground leaning against it, as Vincent sat leaning against the ship's enclosing rail. Yuffie was lying on her back in the middle of all of them, staring up at the bleak, desolate sight of Meteor. She was trying her best to ignore the queasiness in her stomach that was making her nauseas.

"You know," she said, as the silence grew too much for her. "It's hard believing that something like that is going to destroy the world." The others glanced up towards the big orb in the sky. They all knew it was still a long way off, and yet... it looked bigger than it had before.

"Don' know what cha talking about," Barret snapped. "Looks pretty damn menacing ta me."

"I know, but," Yuffie shifted slightly as the ship moved under her, upsetting her stomach. "You know, part of me doesn't buy it. I look up at it, and I tell myself: That's what's gonna get us. That's gonna end the world. And I don't believe it."

"You're young," Vincent shrugged it off. "Teenagers often assume they're immortal."

"That's not it," Yuffie shook her head. She glanced up towards Red Thirteen. "You're supposed to be my age, right? Do you feel immortal?"

"No," Red Thirteen shook his head. "I've seen too much..." He was talking about Aeris. They could all tell. If they still felt immortal after Aeris had been killed... they'd have to be arrogant idiots.

"Do ya think Cloud's alive?" Barret asked, abruptly changing the subject.

"Yes," Yuffie immediately answered. "Otherwise I'd feel... different, somehow. 'Cause when I think of Aeris, I just know that she's gone and I'm not gonna see her again. But when I think of Cloud..." she shrugged. "It's different. Something inside of me tells me he's not gone."

"You're just hoping," Vincent shrugged it off. "We never found his body. We didn't have time to. So you can't let him go the way you've let go of Aeris. And you find yourself hoping."

"Were you _born_ pessimistic?" Cait Sithe demanded.

Vincent glanced away from them and didn't answer. Because what he failed to tell them was... that he was hoping, too.

"But it's more than hope," Yuffie replied. She pointed up towards Meteor. "That thing's gonna kill us all whether I believe it or not. So what hope is there? And yet... I _still_ feel like Cloud's alive somewhere."

"Is there any possible way that he _could_ be alive?" Cait Sithe asked.

He didn't get an answer right away as the rest of the group considered it. Was Cloud alive? Or were they just hoping? Surprisingly, the answer came from someone they wouldn't have expected.

"It's possible," Vincent said. The others glanced at him with open mouths, and even he himself felt somewhat surprised for answering the question. But he pushed past it, and continued: "By now you all know Hojo preformed experiments on me... which enable me to turn into a monster. It was that monster that got us out of the Northern Crater that day. But there was something else that I've not told you.

"When I'm in that form, my senses heighten. I guess that's not so hard to believe. I still don't understand exactly what it was that Hojo did to me, but when I was digging our way out of the crater, I could feel something. I could sense the planet. Its Lifestream."

"The Lifestream," Red Thirteen stared at him in surprise. He glanced at the others. "My grandfather told you all about it, remember? The souls of everything on the planet return to the planet when they die, creating a swell that roams the planet called the Lifestream."

"You could sense it?" Yuffie asked Vincent in astonishment. He nodded.

"I could also sense that part of the crater collapsed," he told them. "I'm not sure, but I think the Lifestream caused several cracks inside the ground, and may have flooded to the surface. If Cloud was anywhere near it, he could have been swept up in its current."

"Can you live through something like that?" Cait Sithe asked skeptically.

"I don't know," Vincent admitted. "It's a long shot. And even if it's possible, I don't know if he'd ever be able to get back out of the Lifestream. Or what kind of condition his body would be in."

"There is somewhere we can look, though," Red Thirteen told them. "The Lifestream sometimes gushes out to the surface through cracks in the ocean floor. Always in the same place, too. Almost like a geyser. My grandfather went there once and saw it."

"Well we should go there too!" Yuffie proclaimed enthusiastically. "If the Lifestream broke through the surface, Cloud might have been propelled out with it! He could still be alive somewhere!"

"Or," Vincent cut in quickly. "We could just be chasing a wild goose. I told you, this was all simply speculation on my part. I've got no evidence to proof it's even a feasible theory."

"Well it's better than _nothing_!" Yuffie declared.

"Vincent," Cait Sithe interjected. "How certain are you that you sensed the Lifestream up there?"

"I'm certain," he told them coldly.

"Good," the cat looked over at Red Thirteen. "Then let's go see if he's there! Where is this place anyway?"

"South of here," Red Thirteen stated. "In a region known as Mideel."

"Then let's go!" Yuffie ordered. "Someone go tell Cid! I don't think I can stand up..." Getting motion sick was a real drag.

"Hate ta cut in on the fun," Barret interrupted. "But shouldn't we be looking for a way ta get rid o' Meteor before we go searching for Cloud?"

"Sure," Yuffie nodded once. "Got any ideas on how ta do that though?"

Barret opened his mouth to reply, but not a word came out. His face darkened and he glowered at her in frustration.

"Of course you don't!" she said. "So our options are to fly around in this awesome airship with no real destination in mind while we frantically try coming up with some way to destroy something that wants to destroy us, _or_, we could fly the airship to Mideel and look for Cloud _while_ brainstorming up ideas to save the world. I mean, looking for Cloud will at least give us something to _do_."

"Yeah!" Cait Sithe immediately sided with the teenager. "Besides. Think of what it'll do for Tifa. She wants to see Cloud again. And I want to see her happy for a change."

"You work for ShinRa," Barret pointedly reminded him. The cat made a face.

"So a guy can't change?" he demanded.

"We'll have time for all that later," Yuffie interrupted. "Let's find Cloud and save the world first, okay? 'Cause I promise you guys! Meteor's not gonna be the end! We're gonna fight till we can't fight anymore and we're gonna stop it! Sephiroth's gonna lose! Now someone needs to get off his lazy butt and go tell Cid where we're going!" As Yuffie spoke, the ship shifted underneath her, and she could practically feel her face turn green. "And someone hurry. I don't feel very good." She hated motion sickness!


	47. Was it Fate?

**Chapter Forty-Six: "Was it Fate?"**

Clean, and finally dressed in her own clothes again, Tifa walked towards the pilot's helm. Her hair was still wet, but that didn't bother her. She had felt the airship turn around and could sense that some destination was in mind. She wanted to know where Cid was taking them.

Walking inside, she immediately located Cid standing beside the helm watching another one of his crew members attempt flying the ship. Vincent and Red Thirteen were in the room as well, and they both immediately noticed and welcomed Tifa.

Cid heard and spun around to see the girl. He nodded in approval. "That looks much better."

"Where are we going?" Tifa asked.

"Mideel," Vincent replied. "There's a possibility we might find something there that could help."

Red Thirteen glanced at Cid, but neither of them said anything. They had all agreed not to mention the small little fact that they were searching for Cloud to Tifa. They didn't want to get her hopes up. If they found him, that would be great! But if they didn't... at least she wouldn't know there had even been a chance.

"What something?" Tifa asked. "Something that might help against Meteor?"

"It involves the Lifestream," Red Thirteen said. "Do you remember about that?" Tifa nodded.

"We don't know for sure," Vincent told her. "But something's better than nothing, or so Yuffie says."

"I guess so," Tifa agreed. "How long should it be until we get there?"

"Just a few hours," Cid assured her. "The Highwind is faster than any other fucking ship out there! We can get wherever you like in no time at all!"

Tifa nodded. Silently, she hoped that whatever they were looking for would be enough.

OOOOOOO

Mideel, though the name of an entire region, was also the name of a small village on a continent far to the south. It was kind of a tropical place. There were a few palm trees and a lot of humidity in the warm air. It was definitely, in Yuffie's opinion, a step up from the freezing cold snowy fields they had to pass over to get to the Northern Crater.

Cid's crew, whose loyalty the captain was absolutely sure of, were left in charge of the airship as he, Tifa, and the others made their way off and towards Mideel.

It was a coastal town, like Junon and Costa del Sol. As the group made their way into the town, they could see the water, and were fascinated by how it seemed to shine with a turquoise light.

"This must be the right place," Red Thirteen told them as he watched the ocean in awe. "You can almost _sense_ the Lifestream here!"

"It's beautiful!" Yuffie said, already over her motion sickness. "I never even imagined it."

"You can't even see it," Vincent gently scolded her. "The shine in the water is not the Lifestream. It's just an aftereffect left over from when the Lifestream last broke through."

"It's still beautiful!" Yuffie insisted.

"I never thought I'd ever be in a place like this," Cait Sithe whispered. "Life still has its surprises."

Barret glared at the cat disapprovingly. "You _ain't_ here, Cait Sithe. Not really, anyways. So don' be talking like ya are!" The cat pouted.

Tifa said nothing as she stared out over the water. It did look beautiful shining like that. If there really was something here that could help protect the planet from Meteor, then she wouldn't be surprised. For there was something different about this place. Something warm.

She turned and started farther into the town. Everything seemed so fresh here. The streets were cobblestone, and the palm trees stood tall while the other, more common trees were lush with greenery. The buildings were made of wood, but they stood strong as if confident in themselves. They weren't like the measly wooden shacks she had seen in the past. These buildings seemed so solid. There was hope to be found here, because here there was not even a sign of ShinRa. Aside from Meteor, which still hung suspended above their heads, there was no clue that the world was dying. In fact, the light over the water left behind by the Lifestream gave it a sense of life like Tifa had not seen anywhere else.

They were greeted in the town by several people who had seen the airship, and were almost immediately celebrities. Naturally, Yuffie and Cait Sithe were the two most flattered by the attention, and even Cid seemed to enjoy bragging about the Highwind. And then Barret starting ranting about how they were there to save the planet and didn't have time for any of this, and of course, that got _him_ in the spot light, and he didn't seem to mind it either.

Tifa, Vincent, and Red Thirteen were the only ones who stood back in the shadows watching in some amusement. They weren't particularly thrilled with the idea that their friends were causing so much commotion among the Mideel villagers, but if the end of the world was really coming, none of them felt like they had any right to deny their friends whatever enjoyment they could find before the time came.

So instead they watched and were patient. Eventually, Tifa found herself walking back towards the beach, and gazing at the beautiful turquoise light that seemed to shine off the water. And even then, her thoughts were only on one other person.

As she stood there, thinking of Cloud, she noticed a shaggy black dog walking by itself along the beach. It didn't seem lost, but it was alone, taking a few steps forward only to stop and sniff the ground. Every once in awhile, it would look up and stare out to sea. And Tifa didn't know why, but she found herself walking over to that dog.

It looked like a 'he'. Tifa stopped a few feet away and knelt down in front of him, and he looked up at her with his tongue hanging from his mouth. She knew right away that this was an ordinary creature that wouldn't walk up to her and start talking like Red Thirteen and Cait Sithe had. And she didn't know why, for there were a lot of things that she didn't understand, but for some reason, that thought brought her comfort.

The dog trotted over to her when she held out her hand and allowed her to pet him. He sat down with a soft thud and started wagging his tail as Tifa gave him her attention.

"Poor thing," Tifa whispered as she stroked his soft tangled fur. "Are you all alone? Separated from the one you love?"

That was why Tifa was comforted by the dog. He reminded her of her. They were both wandering the beach of Mideel entirely alone. And she missed Cloud.

Back up in the town, Vincent watched Tifa silently as Yuffie, Cait Sithe, Cid, and Barret got their fifteen minutes of fame. He sympathized for her. She truly did look so sad. Separated from the one you love... Vincent knew what that felt like.

"Poor girl."

Vincent glanced around to see a man had stepped up beside him. He was an older man, and didn't seem like the kind who would be surprised by anything. Unlike the rest of the villagers, _he_ wasn't jumping up and down in excitement over the unexpected arrival of Cid's airship. He seemed too composed for that kind of behavior, and instead he stood quietly beside Vincent watching the girl on the beach.

"She's been through a lot," Vincent quietly explained, but didn't elaborate after that. The man nodded.

"Seems like everyone we find on that beach has been," he told the former Turk. "For something so beautiful as that ocean, it certainly attracts a lot of misery. Can't have been even a week since we found that kid washed up on the beach. He had that look on his face. You could tell he'd been through Hell. And now that girl..."

The man continued to speak, but Vincent tuned him out as he frowned thoughtfully. They'd found a kid washed up on the beach? What in _God's name_ were the chances of _that_? He turned back to the man beside him. "Excuse me. But what were you saying about a kid?"

"Oh," the man shrugged. "Just a boy. Looked like he might have been somewhere around twenty. I heard he's woken up, but he isn't in the best condition. We're doing the best we can for him, but he needs some better care." He glanced curiously at Vincent. "Why do you ask?"

"There's a reason why we came here," Vincent replied. "We're looking for someone. A boy about that age. It could be him."

The man's eyes lit up. "That's wonderful! We've all been praying that someone who knew him might turn up! It's good to know miracles can still happen on the brink of something like this." He nodded once towards Meteor.

"Yeah, well," Vincent shook his head. "We don't know if the boy you're talking about is the same one I am yet, so let's not talk about miracles until we can find out, okay?" But if it _was_ Cloud, Vincent would be the first to admit that nothing short of a miracle had brought them all to Mideel.

OOOOOOO

Tifa had lost track of all time. The ocean was south of Mideel, so while she was staring out over it, the sun had begun to set to her right. And as the sky turned a brilliant shade of red, the turquoise light shining off the water seemed to intensify. It was a very strange phenomenon, and Tifa was enraptured by it.

The Lifestream was present here. She could sense that as she shifted on the warm sand and gazed silently out towards the sea. By that point the dog had wandered away from her, trotting back towards the town. He had probably grown bored, and Tifa realized it would have been foolish to feel hurt by her sudden abandonment. Besides, it wasn't the dog whose company she wanted. It was Cloud's.

She suddenly sensed Yuffie behind her, and the teenager wrapped her arms around the woman. Tifa smiled softly. "Did you guys get tired of the spotlight?"

"Tifa..." there was an edge in Yuffie's voice that caught the woman's attention. She turned towards the girl and saw sorrow in her eyes. Tifa frowned.

"What's the matter?"

"Vincent found what we were looking for," Yuffie told her hesitantly. "And... we thought you... might wanna see..."

Tifa stood up with the girl, feeling slightly nervous. "What's wrong? Yuffie. Will it help stop Meteor?"

The teenager glanced down. "I... I don't know." For once there was no sign of Yuffie's natural optimism. And that worried Tifa.

"Yuffie, whatever it is, you can tell me," she assured the girl.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Yuffie whispered. "I'd rather... just show you."

"Then show me!" Tifa pleaded. What was going on? They came here looking for a way to stop Meteor! What could possibly be so bad? Things couldn't get worse... could they?

Yuffie turned and started back towards Mideel, and Tifa followed nervously. They found themselves slowly approaching a brown wooden house outside of which stood the rest of their companions and a dark haired man dressed in a white doctor's coat. Tifa hesitated when she saw him, naturally thinking of the last doctor whose care she had been left in. But Yuffie continued forward, so Tifa followed.

She immediately noticed the expressions on her friends' faces. They all looked about as forlorn as Yuffie did. Tifa stopped short, her heart beginning to race.

"Guys," she said, glancing at each of them in turn. "You're really starting to scare me. What's going on?"

"Just go inside, Tifa," Vincent suggested softly. "And you'll see." They couldn't hide it from her, after all. No matter how much they might have wanted to. Tifa deserved to know. She should know.

For a moment, she hesitated, but then hastened through the door of the house her friends had gathered around. She found herself standing in a front hall, with a staircase to her left, a kitchen dining room to her right, and what looked like the entranceway into a living room. It was from that room that she could hear a strange scraping sound. It reminded her of a creaking staircase – one loud crack for each individual second. It was a chilling sound, and caused her heart to speed up ever so slightly. She slowly headed into that room and found herself in a small, comfortable looking parlor.

There were several chairs around a small tea table, and the floor was carpeted white. There was a piano in the corner and several pictures hanging on the walls. But it was the large sofa near the back that caught Tifa's immediate attention. There was a wheelchair beside it and several blankets tossed over its cushions. Lying underneath those blankets was someone she had been hoping to see again ever since she had awoken in Junon.

"Cloud!"

Tears filled in Tifa's eyes as she raced towards the sofa and fell to her knees beside it. Cloud was lying on his back under those blankets, staring up at the ceiling, obviously awake, but unseeing. The glow in his eyes was bright, and though he was breathing, his breaths were ragged, every once in awhile causing his rigid body to twitch and convulse in mild spasms. The strange, periodic creaks she had heard upon entering the little house seemed to come directly from him, as if his very bones were audibly scraping against one another. It was already becoming a maddening sound that didn't pause for a second, but continued to scrape at an ever constant tempo.

"Cloud..." the tears started falling as Tifa's hands reached to touch his face. A part of her didn't believe it. _Couldn't_ believe that he was actually here, and that this wasn't another one of Sephiroth's illusions. And then, because even though she was sitting right there next to him, she didn't feel close enough, so she gently leaned over him and wrapped her arms around him so that she might hold him closer.

Behind her she could hear as Vincent and the doctor entered the house and silently walked into the room with her.

"What's wrong with him?" she demanded.

"Mako poisoning," the doctor told her softly. "Quite an advanced case. It appears that this young man has been exposed to a high level of Mako energy for a protracted period of time." Too much Mako energy would eventually shut down a person's body systems, leading to death.

He shook his head sadly. "He's awake, but he probably has no idea who or where he is now. Poor fellow. His voice doesn't even work. He's literally miles away from us. Some place far away where no one's ever been. Alone."

"Red Thirteen told us the Lifestream sometimes breaches the surface of the ocean around Mideel," Vincent told her softly. "We thought there might have been a chance that he had been dragged into its current from the Northern Crater and brought here. We didn't tell you because it seemed like such a long shot and we didn't want to get your hopes up."

Tifa pulled back from Cloud and turned towards them miserably. "Will he get better?"

The doctor sighed. "In all honesty, it's impossible to say. People just aren't meant to swim around in the Lifestream."

Tifa turned back towards Cloud and gazed down at his face. It seemed completely devoid of any kind of expression. But somehow she knew he was awake right now, and maybe he could hear her... Feel her. He didn't seem to be seeing anything past his glowing eyes, but maybe he _could_... Tifa rested her head down onto the cushion next to his and didn't move. Even if he didn't know she was there, _she_ knew he was. And she couldn't bear to leave him.

Vincent hesitated, not wanting to leave Tifa, but then he forcibly reminded himself that she was an adult and didn't need his constant protection. He glanced at the doctor. "Let's give them a moment."

"Of course," the doctor nodded and they turned and walked back outside to where Cid, Barret, Yuffie, and Red Thirteen were waiting.

Tifa heard them leave, and turned her head slightly so that she was looking at Cloud. Her tears were getting the cushion wet, but she didn't care.

"Why...?" Even now she felt so alone. She couldn't even _begin_ to imagine how alone Cloud must be feeling at that moment. "What do you want me to do...?"

"Please Cloud..." she pushed away from him then and sat beside him, staring down at him as he struggled to breathe properly. But doing so without voicing any kind of complaint. She bit her lip. "Talk to me... Tell me that you can hear me... that you can see me... I've come this far believing in the memories we have together! Don't leave me alone now!"

She trembled and glanced away. "This can't be happening..."

Outside, Barret was thinking the same thing as the doctor told them once again what Cloud's condition was.

"Mako poisoning. I've never seen a case this bad. An immense amount of Mako-drenched knowledge was put into his brain all at once. No ordinary human could have survived it. It's a miracle that he did."

"Seems like there have been a lot of miracles going around lately," Vincent stated. "What are the chances that we actually found him here?"

Yuffie glanced up from where she sat on the ground. "Was it fate?"

"He fell in the Lifestream and washed up here," Red Thirteen said thoughtfully. "And Vincent somehow sensed the Lifestream, and we managed to work it out to find him. Doesn't seem like fate. But it does seem convenient."

"Like someone manipulated it?" Cait Sithe asked.

"No," Red Thirteen shook his head. "That's too harsh a word. More like it was coordinated."

"The Lifestream is where the living go to return to the planet at the end of their lives," Vincent said thoughtfully. They all silently contemplated that for a moment.

The door to the house suddenly opened and Tifa walked back outside. They all glanced at her, and quickly jumped to attention.

"Are ya okay?" Barret asked without pause. They all knew this was going to be the hardest on her. But she nodded.

"Yeah." They all knew it was at least partially a lie, for they could all see how red her eyes were. She had been crying.

"I'm sorry I had you all worried," she told them softly, unable to meet any of their gazes. "But I think... you guys have to keep searching for a way to stop Meteor. But I can't come with you anymore."

"Tifa..." Barret stepped towards her in concern. "What da ya mean?"

She finally brought herself to look up at him. "I mean the only thing I care about right now is Cloud. I have to stay with him."

"But Tifa!" Yuffie was immediately on her feet. "We're gonna save the planet together?"

"Don't ya think Tifa's already done her part?" Cid jumped in to the girl's defense. He turned towards her in approval. "You hang in there. Do what's right for you."

Tifa nodded before looking back towards Yuffie. "If I go with you, and something happens to Cloud... he's all alone here, and I have to stay with him and be there for him! I have to see him through this. I know it's not the best time for me to be quitting. The planet's in danger and all. But Cloud-"

"Tifa," Vincent cut in gently. "Don't try to explain it. Cloud needs to be taken care of by someone who actually knows him. And that's you. Leave the rest of the world to us."

"Thank you..." Tifa whispered, looking down. "This means a lot to me."

Cait Sithe was shaking his head, but out of awe and respect, not disapproval. "You'd stand by him even at a time like this..." Silently he wondered if someone would ever find it in their heart to do that for him someday.

"Tifa," Barret said softly, and obviously against his better judgment. They all glanced at him, hearing the edge in his voice and knowing he was going to ask something that no one wanted to have asked. Tifa nervously bit her lip as she waited for what was coming. "What are you really doing this for? Chances are... he snaps outta it, he could still be nothing more 'en Sephiroth's shadow. An' would that really be doing him a favor? And wha's more... is he even really who you both thought he was? Is he really Cloud? A boy you grew up wit'?"

Tifa glanced down. Her hands were nervously clasped together in front of her. She knew she had to answer. But what could she possible say? _She_ didn't even know! She had been asking that question herself.

What did she believe? Had Cloud been a part of her childhood? Or had Jenova manipulated her dreams and memories? Did she have faith in Cloud? Or did she believe what Sephiroth had told them?

Did it even matter?

The one thing that mattered was that Cloud was the one she loved. She didn't care if he was the boy from her past or a clone constructed in Sephiroth's shadow. She would stand by him!

She looked back up at Barret. "He's Cloud. I'm certain of it." Barret nodded, seemingly satisfied.

Cid walked up to Tifa and placed his hand on her shoulder as he smiled at her fondly. "You take care of Cloud, ya hear? Don't think we won't come back to check up on you, either!"

Tifa smiled softly and nodded. "I won't."

One by one, she said goodbye to each of her friends and watched as they made their way back out of Mideel. And though she did not regret her decision, a part of her felt slightly guilty. They had once been a formidable team of nine bent on saving the world. But now... Aeris was gone. Cloud was sick. And Tifa refused to leave his side. What had once been a team of nine was now a team of six.

Different circumstances were beginning to pull them apart so that their numbers were dwindling. And Meteor was growing closer with each passing hour. Everything seemed so hopeless. What chance did they really have? But then, Tifa thought, with a small smile... They had found Cloud... What had been the chances of _that_?


	48. Return to North Corel

**Chapter Forty-Seven: Return to North Corel**

Time passed and found Barret, Cid, Vincent, Red Thirteen, Cait Sithe, and Yuffie onboard the deck of the Highwind. They were now down one more team member, but they were trying their hardest not to let that get to them. They still had a job to do.

Unfortunately, they weren't quite sure where to go from there.

Barret had his arms crossed and was tapping his foot in frustration. "I mean, we found Cloud an' all. But what're we gonna do _now_? What _can_ we do?"

Cait Sithe hobbled forward, surprisingly cheerful, as he grinned at them all maliciously. "I got an idea! Wanna hear something interesting?"

"Let me guess," Barret grumbled. "You're a spy, and you're ready ta double cross us again."

"Close," Cait Sithe admitted. "I _am_ still in the espionage game. But I'm ready to double cross ShinRa now."

"Ooh," Yuffie hopped forward enthusiastically. She rubbed her hands together in mischievous anticipation. "So what do our good friends at ShinRa have to reveal to us?"

"They had the same problem we're having right now," the cat told them. "In that they weren't sure what to do. So they broke it down into two categories. One. Destroy Meteor. And two. Remove the barrier around the Northern Crater and destroy Sephiroth."

"Aren't they fucking geniuses," Cid grumbled sarcastically. He plopped down on the floor of his ship, and then fell backwards so that he was lying on his back with his arms spread out lazily.

Cait Sithe ignored him and continued with his explanation. "Apparently Heidegger and Scarlet have worked through the first issue. Destroying Meteor. Which, in my mind, is the more important of the two anyway, so we might as well start with that. They're collecting Huge Materia from different regions."

Yuffie was instantly enraptured. "Huge Materia? What kind of Materia is that? Do you think it's strong? Can I steal it?"

Cait Sithe smiled at her appreciatively. "One thing at a time. From what I've gathered, Huge Materia is a high density special type of Materia made through a special compression process in Mako Reactors. The energy extracted from it is three hundred and thirty times more powerful than normal Materia."

Yuffie was practically jumping in excitement. But then the ship shifted under them and she fell to her knees, her face turning slightly green.

"What do they plan on doing with it?" Vincent asked.

"They're gonna gather it all up together and send it flying towards Meteor," Cait Sithe declared. "They're gonna ram the Materia into it, create a huge explosion, and literally reduce it to bits."

"They can do that?" Barret asked, somewhat skeptically.

"They believe so," Cait Sithe nodded. "They've already gathered Materia from Nibelheim. Now they're dispatching troops to collect the Materia from Corel and Fort Condor."

"Corel?" Barret started at that, and stared at the cat in alarm. "They're sending _troops_ ta Corel? What the _hell_?"

"Barret used ta live in Corel," Yuffie informed the former Turk, who had not yet been part of their team when they had last been in North Corel. Vincent nodded.

"We can' let them touch Corel!" Barret shook his head and jumped up and down furiously. "We can' let them have the Materia!"

"But Barret," Vincent glanced at him thoughtfully. "If they can use the Materia to destroy Meteor, why get in their way?"

"Because they don' deserve ta be the ones ta send the Materia flying," Barret replied. "They caused this problem ta begin wit'! They fix it, the people will call 'em heroes, and they don' deserve that!"

"Finally!" Cait Sithe clapped his hands in excitement. "I'm finally beginning to understand you!"

"That's because he's starting to sound selfish," Vincent replied pointedly. He frowned at Barret in disapproval. "It doesn't matter what they deserve. The only thing that matters is stopping Meteor. Who cares who actually does it as long as it gets done?"

"I don't think the ShinRa know what they're doing," Yuffie replied. "You come up with a foolproof plan, and Heidegger and Scarlet'll still somehow screw it up." She clapped her hands in anticipation. "Let's steal the Materia!"

"Wait a minute," Red Thirteen interrupted. He shook his head and sighed. "Let's face it. If the Materia is going to be of any use in destroying Meteor, then the ShinRa are the only ones with the resources to pull it off. I say give them a chance."

"But in all likeliness," Cait Sithe interjected. "The Huge Materia from Nibelheim should be enough to blow Meteor out of the sky. If it's gonna work at all, they won't need much more than that. So the other bits of Materia they're all collecting is for them to hoard. ShinRa never does anything selflessly, you know."

"So they're gonna gather all this Materia to save the world," Yuffie theorized. "And when they're done, they're gonna use it to terrorize the world! Is that what you're saying?"

Cait Sithe shrugged. "It's a definite possibility. Besides, with power comes responsibility. ShinRa may have the power needed to destroy Meteor, but can we really trust them with that responsibility?"

"We have no choice," Vincent replied.

"The last time I said that, and trusted ShinRa," Barret shot back quickly. "It very well nearly got Tifa killed!"

"I'm more responsible than ShinRa," Yuffie agreed quickly. "I don't see what the big deal is! Let's steal the Materia!"

"We could better spend our time doing something else," Red Thirteen shook his head.

"It's two against three!" Yuffie said, somewhat immaturely.

"That only makes five," Red Thirteen pointed out. "There are six of us."

"I'm supposed ta be the leader of Avalanche!" Barret declared.

"Avalanche is an anti-ShinRa organization," Vincent pointed out. "You would naturally be against ShinRa, even if it meant saving the planet."

"You-" Barret stopped short in surprise. The accusation had caught him off guard, and his anger quickly dissipated into shame. "Yeah... I guess ya're right."

"Barret!" Yuffie and Cait Sithe both glanced at him forlornly, but he just shook his head.

"Ya should listen ta all o' us," he said softly. "Bickering... No time ta be bickering... This is exactly why groups like us, doing something important, should have a good, strong leader."

"Cloud was our leader..." Red Thirteen reminded them softly.

"I use ta be one," Barret went on. "Still wanna be. But... Guess I never really was cut out for it. President Shinra certainly didn't think so. He knew right away the leader should o' always been Cloud."

"So if Cloud's not here," Yuffie said softly. "And Barret doesn't want to be the leader anymore... who's it gonna be?"

"Cid," Barret immediately decided for all of them. "He's the Captain, after all. We ain't gonna be going no where wit' out him."

Vincent glanced over towards the man in question, and immediately stifled a laugh. "Barret. The man you want to be our leader is asleep."

They all spun towards Cid in surprise, and sure enough, there he was, lying on his back atop the ship's deck, breathing evenly with his eyes closed.

"Damn," Barret shook his head as Yuffie crawled over to Cid and poked him in the arm.

Cid's eyes immediately opened and he sat up in surprise. "Wha's going on?"

"Barret has chosen you to be our new leader," Vincent casually informed him.

Cid spun around towards the black man. "You pain in the ass." He shook his head. "Forget it."

"You the one running this ship, ain't cha?" Barret demanded, crossing his arms. "We need cha ta make decisions for us an' call the shots!"

"We can't agree on whether or not we should trust ShinRa with an operation that could in fact save the planet, but could also possibly put an extraordinary amount of power in their hands," Red Thirteen quickly summarized.

Cid stared at them as if they were all out of their minds. "Ya can't agree on _that_? Damn. Last time we trusted ShinRa with _anything_, Tifa ended up in a gas chamber!"

"That's what _I_ said!" Barret declared indignantly.

Vincent smiled softly. "All right. Let's go to North Corel and get that Huge Materia before ShinRa does."

Yuffie practically squealed in delighted anticipation.

OOOOOOO

Like the Nibelheim Reactor, the Corel one had been built high atop Mt. Corel. But unlike Mt. Nibel, the Corel Mountains were of rough terrain, and the easiest way to get to the Reactor, other than by air of course, was by train.

Cid had his crew members maneuver the airship around the mountain and to a position where it would not be visible from the Reactor. There was really no point in letting ShinRa know that they were coming. The Highwind was ordered to wait for them, and with that said, Cid led the other five off the airship and onto the side of the mountain. They quickly made their way towards the Reactor.

Unfortunately, by the time they all got there, and were watching from the shelter of whatever trees there were, they could see that a large black train had already pulled up on the tracks and appeared to have already been loaded. The ShinRa officers were walking purposefully around it, some of them climbing aboard, while others spoke with the conductor up at the front of the train.

"It looks like they already got the Materia on the train," Vincent analyzed. "We need to stop it before it leaves."

"That train's got four cars," Cid said softly. "I doubt it would be in the first one. Got any ideas on where it's stored?"

"Should be the second one," Cait Sithe replied. He would know. He was, after all, from ShinRa.

"You're the spy," Cid said with a shrug. "Hope ya know what you're talking about." He glanced towards Yuffie and Red Thirteen. "When I say, the two of you need to get on that train and find the Materia. The rest of us will be covering you from behind."

"Got it!" Yuffie said with an energetic nod. "You keep them off our butts, and we'll get you your Materia."

"Good," Cid nodded. He turned towards Barret and Vincent. "You two ready?"

"Hey!" Cait Sithe jumped forward indignantly. "What about me? What do I do?"

Cid glanced at the cat critically. "You're the fucking spy, remember? Can't have ShinRa knowing you betrayed 'em! You stay outta sight unless something unforeseen happens and by some chance we need your help." Cait Sithe pouted, but he didn't object. Cid turned back towards the others. "Let's move."

Immediately Barret ran forward with his machine gun, firing several rounds a minute as he ran towards the train. The ShinRa officers barely had time to sound any kind of alarm before they had to run shouting for cover.

Yuffie and Red Thirteen shot off towards the train. The large cat immediately outdistanced the teenager, dodging the ShinRa with extraordinary grace and swiftness. Yuffie followed suit, pausing only long enough to throw ninja discs at whoever got in her way.

Cid, holding in his hand a long spear as his chosen weapon, ran forward, sprinting headfirst into the sudden fray of chaos. Whoever chose to try attacking him at short distance quickly got hit by the staff part of the spear or impaled by the blade part.

Several ShinRa guards turned towards the conductor, who had retreated inside his car in panic. They shouted at him to start the train moving and get it down the mountainside. The man hastened to obey.

Vincent walked calmly after his companions, holding a handgun and firing it at other ShinRa soldiers with guns who looked ready to shoot the former Turk's allies. Several soldiers turned towards Vincent and fired frantically at him, but often enough they missed, or merely shot bullet past his thick clothes. The very few bullets that actually _did_ hit his flesh hardly hurt, for though Vincent looked human enough, there was a beast inside of him that hardly flinched from ShinRa bullets.

Cid fought with surprising grace. He moved with speed and swiftness that no one would have expected from the captain, and he managed to stay relatively composed as he did so, relying on Vincent and Barret to cover him from the soldiers with guns while he took out soldiers in close range. He never let his spear go, using it more as a staff than an actual spike.

Barret, however, wasn't in the _least_ bit composed as he shot at the ShinRa, plowing over them when they got too close. He kept swearing at them and cursing them. For this mountain had been his home, and he would protect it now as he had been unable to do so many years ago.

Red Thirteen jumped up onto the ledge between the first and second car of the train. He waited for Yuffie to catch up and push the door open to the second car. They rushed inside quickly, but several ShinRa guards were waiting ready to ambush them. Unfortunately for them, they were not expecting something like Red Thirteen.

Like a tiger, he practically leapt from one wall to the next, snarling at the ShinRa and exposing his savage fangs. The soldiers all jumped away in alarm as Yuffie fought her way through. Slowly, but steadily, they managed to convince their enemies to back off and retreat. Then they noticed a pretty large box resting on one of the train seats.

Yuffie jumped towards it and quickly forced it open. Inside rested a good large block of red Materia. She turned triumphantly towards Red Thirteen. "Found it!" But before the large cat could respond, they heard a loud, trumpeting blast. A moment later, the car they were on began to vibrate.

Outside, everything grew still as Cid, Vincent, and Barret all glanced at the train in surprise. Slowly, it began to move.

"Red an' Yuffie are still on there!" Barret shouted as the train began its progression down the mountainside. He immediately started after it.

"Barret wait!" Cid shouted, running after the black man. Vincent scowled as if in distaste as several ShinRa officers decided to take that moment to their advantage. As Barret and Cid ran after the moving train, the ShinRa tried shooting the two, and Vincent was forced to grab his second hand gun and move with more urgency to cover his wayward companions.

On the train, Yuffie glanced at Red Thirteen hesitantly. "What do we do now?" Red Thirteen just shook his head uncertainly.

"The train's not moving very fast yet," he said. "But even still, you'd have to be _real idiot_ to try jumping off."

Outside, Barret and Cid were running next to the last car. Barret jumped first, and somehow managed to grab hold of the train's outer platform. Cid jumped after him and also managed to hang on. They pulled themselves up and burst inside the train ready to fight their way to the front.

Back at the Reactor, the remaining ShinRa soldiers had either surrendered to Vincent or had run off. The Former Turk hardly cared as he stared after the train that was vanishing into the distance. Having a slightly bad feeling about all this, he began to sprint after it.

Meanwhile, Barret and Cid had finally made it to the second car. They burst through with their weapons drawn, causing Yuffie to shriek and Red Thirteen to turn towards them with a vicious snarl. But they quickly stopped short when they recognized each other.

"You!" Yuffie raised a finger in Barret's direction. "You're trying ta get me killed! Aren't ya!"

"Is that the Huge Materia?" Cid demanded, nodding towards the box that contained the big red block. Red Thirteen nodded.

"Forget that!" Barret proclaimed in extreme urgency. "We gotta get off this train!" He barged towards the first car with his weapon ready. Cid, Yuffie, and Red Thirteen followed close behind.

There were other ShinRa officers in that car as well. They attacked the four allies with brutal ferocity, but Barret's machine gun managed to catch them all first, even as Cid shouted at him not to fire in this particular car.

But he had shouted that warning too late, for a moment later the four of them were the only breathing people in the car. The first car of the entire train. That was, by the way, still racing down the mountainside.

"Ya idiot!" It was all Cid could do not to whack Barret upside the head. "Ya just shot the fucking conductor!" Barret's eyes widened in alarm.

"I did?"

Red Thirteen jumped up, leaning his forepaws against a wall to stare out the front window. "There's a town up ahead and the tracks start curving around it!"

"North Corel!" Barret shouted.

Red Thirteen glanced at Cid. "If you don't stop this train soon or figure out how to maneuver it, it's gonna run off its tracks and straight into the town!"

"Well, damn!" Cid rubbed his head thoughtfully. "I don't know how to drive a train. I'm a pilot, not a conductor!"

"Good going, Barret," Yuffie glared at him, and he could only look back guiltily.

"Just move aside!" Cid shouted. "I'll figure out how to work this damn thing if it's the last thing I do!"

OOOOOOO

The train could be heard from North Corel, but everyone knew right away that something was wrong. Maybe it was the way the train sounded, moving too fast while trying to break, or maybe it was just instinct, but everyone in the town had a feeling that something terrible was on the verge of happening.

Men, women, and children all slowly piled out into the streets to watch in horror as a train came barreling towards their homes. And their selves! It had run off the tracks, and even now, as it attempted to decelerate, it was painfully obvious that the train wasn't going to make it in time.

Panic ensued as the people of North Corel scrambled to get out the train's path, all the while _petrified_ that something else should happen to their town on account of ShinRa. Hadn't they suffered enough?

But then, just when they thought that the train was going to run over their homes and destroy their very ways of existence, another loud bellow could be heard.

Suddenly, a great monster leapt up into the sky and literally jumped over the train. The panic that followed after _that_ terrifying sight was severe. Many people became paralyzed in utter terror as they watched the monster take the train in its grasp and pull it to a slow but steady halt.

OOOOOOO

Inside the train, the four companions glanced around at each other uncertainly. The train had stopped!

"Did I do it?" Cid asked, sounding doubtful. "Didn't think I was gonna do it."

"Who cares?" Barret grumbled, still feeling guilty about shooting the conductor. "Important thing is that it stopped wit' out running over the town."

"But how'd it stop?" Yuffie asked.

A monster suddenly appeared before the train's front window and stared in at them savagely. Yuffie shrieked, jumping backwards and landing in Cid's arms as the other three caught their breaths in growing alarm.

But then the monster transformed, and they found themselves looking out at Vincent, who was even then staring up at them in distaste.

OOOOOOO

The four friends jumped out of the train to meet the former Turk, who immediately noticed Barret holding a large box in which he assumed the Huge Materia must be hidden. He sighed as they regrouped. "Now, not only have we stolen an airship, but we've stolen Huge Materia and completely ran a train off its tracks in the process. ShinRa is not going to be very happy with us."

"Well, good!" Cid declared. "I'm not very happy with them either!"

"Vincent," Barret glanced at the former Turk almost sheepishly. "Thanks... for protecting the town an' all." Vincent nodded, but didn't say anything as a handful of men from North Corel came running up to meet them. But when they saw Barret, they all came to a dead halt.

Barret glanced around at his companions before he dejectedly started walking towards the newcomers.

"I owe you an apology," he told them softly. "Nearly ran the town to bits trying to stop ShinRa..."

"You were trying to stop ShinRa?" the one man in the lead asked. His face turned red. "Barret! That train very well nearly destroyed our home! If it hadn't been for that-" he glanced at Vincent in distaste. "-that monster! your little escapade would have wrecked the _only_ home we have left!"

"Hey!" Cid jumped towards the Corel men resentfully. "It was a fucking accident! Your town didn't get harmed and we're doing this to save the planet! From that!" He savagely jerked a finger up towards Meteor.

"It's cool, Cid," Barret said calmly, glancing at the pilot quickly before turning back towards the men from North Corel. Men he all knew and respected. "Look. I know y'all blame me for wha' happened to our home. I still blame myself. That's why I fight."

There was something in Barret's voice that was different. It caught the attention of the men, and they frowned, listening to him as they had never listened before. No longer did Barret sound angry or bitter. Nor did he sound subdued or resonating with self pity. He sounded firm. He was no longer wallowing in guilt, but overcoming it, and that was what they had all been waiting for from him, without ever even realizing it.

"Meteor's coming ta destroy the world," Barret told them. "But I'm gonna help stop it. We were all born an' raised in the coal mines! No matter how tough it gets, our hearts burn red like coal. I can't help what happened in the past. But I'm gonna keep ShinRa from hurting Corel ever again, an' I'm gonna see to it that the planet lives. And that's the only thing I'm fighting for now. I'm sorry if we scared everyone in the town. I know how precious it is ta have a home. An' how much it hurts ta have it taken away."

The coal miners studied Barret thoughtfully, actually having listened to his words reasonably. They glanced at each other, and all of their expressions softened. The one man who had accused Barret stepped slightly towards him. "Barret... Are you for real?"

"It's been so many years," Barret said softly. "Are ya'll gonna hate me forever? 'Cause forever might not be that much longer."

"ShinRa's going to blame the people of Corel for this," the man said in equal softness. But Barret smirked and shook his head.

"Doubt it," he told them. "I've worked too hard ta catch ShinRa's attention. They're pissed wit' Avalanche already, an' they ain't gonna blame anyone else but us."

The miners all hesitated, but then... There was something about the idea of Avalanche that appealed to them, even if it _was_ officially led by Barret Wallace.

"You really gonna make ShinRa pay for their crimes?" the one man asked like an eager child.

Barret grinned. "We're doing something _better_ than jus' making 'em pay. We're making 'em _suffer_."


	49. Fort Condor

**Chapter Forty-Eight: Fort Condor**

Now that Barret had made his peace with the people of North Corel, they all felt like they could move on with lighter hearts. Barret himself, especially.

They returned up the mountain with the Huge Materia in tow to find a frantic Cait Sithe waiting for them. Then they continued on to the airship, where they safely stored away the Huge Materia, and went on to consider their next moves.

"You said ShinRa dispatched troops to Corel and Fort Condor?" Cid questioned their little spy.

Cait Sithe nodded. "Yep. Next target is the fort. If we wanna stop 'em, we gotta get there first!"

"Where the hell's Fort Condor?" Barret demanded.

"East of Junon," Cid replied with a navigator's ease. He shrugged and started back towards the pilot's helm. "That's where we'll be headed, then."

Yuffie jumped towards Cait Sithe enthusiastically. "This is so exciting! I always knew I should be stealing Materia from ShinRa!"

Vincent watched her critically. "You do know the Materia will probably not be going to Wutai, don't you?"

"Why not?" Yuffie asked, staring at him with crossed arms. "What better use could it be put to, if it's not gonna be used to blow up Meteor?"

"There is no better use," he replied. "This is really no time to be concerning ourselves with personal issues. We don't have the time for it."

"Oh, come on, Vincent," Cait Sithe objected rather loudly. "The world is gonna end soon! What better time is there for us to deal with our personal issues?"

"Isn't there anything in your life that _you_ wanna work through before our time runs out?" Yuffie asked, quite innocently. It wasn't an unreasonable question after all. Vincent considered her for a moment, but then turned and walked over to the airship's rail to stare out over the land that they were flying above. And before Yuffie could press the issue, Cid had the ship turn suddenly around, which, of course, caused Yuffie's face to turn green and she sank miserably to the floor.

Vincent sighed as the wind blew in his face. It was a cold wind, for they were rather high up in the sky. But the cold didn't bother him at all. Hojo had seen to it that there would be little in the world that physically _could_ bother him. But physical discomfort, Vincent thought, was _hardly_ the worst kind.

He thought about Yuffie's question. Meteor was coming. And if they couldn't stop it, would Vincent be ready for his life to end? Or would he die knowing that there was still some business left in the world for him to attend to? Was he satisfied? Or did he still search for the surprises in life that Cait Sithe, even now, was still finding?

_Lucrecia..._

Red Thirteen hopped onto his hind legs, placing his fore ones on the ship's rail, so that he was almost standing at Vincent's side. He looked up at the man who was older than him even if years were to be taken literally. "You're concerned about something."

Vincent nodded. "There's very little on this planet _not_ to be concerned about."

OOOOOOO

Fort Condor was located high up on a tall single peak to the east of Junon. It was a stone fortress that, from the sky, appeared to be the epicenter of a terrible battle. From the safety of the airship, Cid and the others watched the explosions from down below as grenades were tossed and weapons fired. Smoke covered the land like fog, as men scrambled around both outside and inside the fort fighting and killing.

Barret turned towards Cait Sithe. "What the hell is going on?"

The cat shrugged. "My guess would be the Condor Tribe doesn't want ShinRa getting their hands on the Huge Materia. They're defending the Reactor."

Sure enough, when Barret and the others looked, they could see that the Fortress was in-between the fighting and the mountain's summit. And built directly into the peak of that mountain was the Ford Condor Reactor.

Surprisingly, however, it was not the Reactor that caught the attention of the troop on the airship. It was the creature perched on top of it. A giant brown eagle that sat both watching the fight below it and guarding what looked like a large, amber colored egg that was on the verge of hatching. It was the condor for which the fort had been named.

"It looks pretty dangerous down there," Yuffie observed softly. Her hands tightened into clenched fists as she turned towards Cid and Vincent. "Are we gonna help them fight the ShinRa?"

Before Cid could answer, Vincent suddenly pointed towards the mountain, away from the stone fortress. "Look. You can see ShinRa soldiers through the trees. They're going to flank around to the other side of the fort and attack the tribe from behind. The people down there don't even notice. They're outnumbered and too focused on the actual fort."

"Damn," Barret shook his head in disgust. "It's gonna be a bloody massacre if we don' jump in an' help."

"What do you recommend doing?" Cid asked the former Turk. "I'm a pilot, not a fucking strategist!"

"Have the airship drop us off there," Vincent said, pointing to a section of the mountain that was both behind the fort and away from the flanking troop. "If we hurry, we should have enough time to intercept them."

"Would we be walking into a losing fight?" Cid asked.

Vincent found himself smirking, and he crossed his arms. "No. The ShinRa won't know what hit them."

OOOOOOO

Before long, the team found themselves touching down on the ground. Vincent immediately turned towards Red Thirteen.

"The sooner we intercept the ShinRa, the better our chances will be at covering for the tribal fighters," he informed the large cat. Red Thirteen nodded and immediately bounded ahead of the group. Then Vincent spun towards Cait Sithe, who he had graciously allowed to accompany them this time around. "See if you can find the chief. Let him know we're friends."

Cait Sithe gave the former Turk a mock salute.

Vincent glanced at Cid, Barret, and Yuffie. "Keep an eye on each other. I'll try to end this as soon as possible." With that said, he turned and sprinted ahead of them after Red Thirteen at a speed that was, by all rights, humanly impossible.

The four remaining friends glanced at each other for a moment, but for no longer than that. They could try figuring out the former Turk later. Right now, they had a fight to join and a job to do.

OOOOOOO

The ShinRa had indeed been flanking around behind the fortress. But Vincent had been wrong about one thing. The tribal fighters were, in fact, all too aware of this. They knew it was coming, and they knew what it meant, but there was nothing they could do to stop it. As it was, they were horribly outnumbered and their chief was doing the best he could to simply hold his people together.

They were losing the fight, they all knew. ShinRa seemed to be everywhere, and the chief knew that once the soldiers flanking them charged down on them, it would be all over. And yet the tribe continued fighting, for surrendering was not an option to them.

But then, out of no where, the chief watched as a magnificent creature that looked like a mixture between a red wolf, lion, and tiger came sprinting furiously to their aid. It attacked the ShinRa, moving with grace and speed the kind of which rivaled the condor itself.

And as the chief watched, he numbly realized that the creature was attacking not just any ShinRa, but the ShinRa who had been flanking and surrounding them. It was like an answer to his very prayers!

A moment later, even more prayers were answered as a large ape like monster came crashing down on the ShinRa. The chief's mouth literally fell open as he dove for cover from an exploding grenade that had been tossed his way.

Debris flew everywhere. But through the smoke and rubble, the chief could still see both the red creature and the gigantic monster as they covered the tribe's rear line. And though the ShinRa were no cowards, it was not unreasonable to assume that most of them had never faced such horrific opponents before in their lives. Several turned and ran at the very sight of the two creatures.

The chief was stunned. Already he could see the fight turning around in their favor simply out of the ShinRa's intimidation. But who could blame them? They had been sent to fight a group of primitive natives, not two unholy _beasts_! President Rufus could confiscate his own Materia, for all they cared.

The chief watched in amazement as suddenly a toy moogle came prancing to his side through the smoke. There was a cat sitting on top of it, directing its movements, and it looked up at the chief through squinted eyes.

"You the chief?"

The leader of the Condor Tribe knelt towards the cat in amazement. "Yes... But where did _you_ come from?"

"No time for that!" the cat informed him. "We're here to help! Just so you can inform your people to kindly not try killing us!" The man could only blink as the cat turned his moogle around and wildly entered the fray.

And as he watched, pitching in to help with the fight wherever he was needed, he could make out through the smoke and chaos a man holding a spear, a girl holding a boomerang, and another man who appeared to have some kind of gun embedded into his arm, all working together to fight off the ShinRa.

The chief scratched his head in wonder. Who were these people? It was just too hard to believe that on the brink of something like Meteor crashing down onto the planet, prayers like his were still being answered. It was a very encouraging thought.

OOOOOOO

Not three hours had passed before ShinRa finally gave up and turned to flee. They certainly had had their enemy outnumbered... but sometimes numbers weren't all that mattered. They had been overwhelmed by the unexpected latecomers' arrival, and were simply unprepared for any kinds of dealings with them. So they sounded their retreat, and left as quickly as they could.

Amid the pursuing cheers of victory taken up by the tribal fighters, the chief turned to desperately search for those who had come to their aid. They weren't that hard to find, even in the surrounding terrain with all its smoke and debris, rubble, corpses, and the nearly destroyed fortress itself. For they weren't exactly of the tribe themselves, and even if they had been anywhere else in the world, the chief was fairly certain they still would not have been an inconspicuous bunch.

For their number included a scrawny girl, a tall man wielding a spear, a cat riding a moogle, another man with a gun on his arm, the extraordinary cat-like beast, and another man cloaked in red and black who seemed somehow capable of fading away into his surroundings.

The chief approached them somewhat cautiously, but also gratefully. And as he approached, he watched in interest as they greeted each other and spoke together with great familiarity. These people were friends, and obviously close, and for some reason, they had come to help the tribe of Fort Condor. They turned when they saw the chief approaching.

"That's the chief!" the cat on the moogle declared importantly. The man with the gun arm rolled his eyes and spat a rather vulgar comment the cat's way.

"Who are you people?" the chief demanded rather bluntly. He was still pumping with adrenaline, and he couldn't _believe_ they had actually beaten off the ShinRa! But then he glanced around rather uncertainly. "I mean, we're very grateful for the assistance, but... what happened to that other creature?"

"Don't worry about it," the man in the red cloak told him in a soft voice. "Forget you ever saw it."

"But," the chief was shaking his head in pure astonishment. "I have so many questions! I don't know where to begin! Why-"

"Here's a quick summary!" the girl cut in cheerfully. "We're trying to save the planet from Meteor! _That_ thing!" She pointed towards the great sphere in the sky. "And on the side, we're trying to completely overturn the ShinRa. We were hoping you'd let us take the Huge Materia! 'Cause otherwise we'd just have to steal it!"

"Yuffie!" All three men turned towards the girl in utter irritation. And the chief found that all he could do, even in light of this strange information, was stare at them in complete awe.

OOOOOOO

"You have to forgive Yuffie," Cid was telling the chief as he led them up the mountain towards the Reactor. "She's got something of a one track mind. Doesn't wanna do anything _but_ steal Materia."

"From the ShinRa, we can understand that," the chief nodded his head in warm amusement. "We, too, oppose them. A few years back, they forced us to build this Reactor for them. We had always known that the condor lived here, and to be perfectly honest, we couldn't care less about whether or not the ShinRa came for their Materia. We simply wanted to protect the great bird."

Barret glanced up at the giant winged creature in slight apprehension. It was sitting from its perch watching their every move like a hawk – which wasn't too far off from what it actually was. "Tha's understandable..."

"It protects its egg," the chief went on to explain to them. "The condors live in a harsh cycle of birth and death. The egg will soon hatch. We could not allow the ShinRa to come and disturb the sacred rite of the condor."

"We're all very glad we were able to get here in time to help you," Red Thirteen assured him. "And the condor as well."

"As my people are grateful," the chief agreed. They came to the Reactor and the man led them inside to where they found another large block of Materia that was lying as if in wait of them. It had been recently condensed, and now they were able to claim it for themselves.

"We would much rather see you with the Materia than ShinRa," the chief told them. "We hope that you use it well, and that you find a way to stop Meteor."

"As do we," Vincent agreed softly.

They were in the process of walking back down the mountain towards the fortress when an unexpected explosion sounded from the Reactor behind them.

Yuffie squealed as the force of it pushed them all to the ground. She hit the dirt hard, and groaned as the wind was knocked out of her. Slowly turning, she looked back towards the Reactor to see that something, possibly the egg itself, had completely erupted.

The condor had been even more violently pushed into the sky because of it, and as it was, it let out a terrible shriek.

Yuffie sat up in horror, as did Cid, Barret, and the others. They watched helplessly as the condor was thrown from the Reactor and towards the ground as if it were powerless to protect itself at all.

"What's happening?" Yuffie cried in horror as she realized the condor was falling to its grave. "No! Why?" She stumbled to her feet in a pathetic attempt to run towards the condor, as if there was some way she could change the bird's fate. But Vincent quickly caught her and held her back.

"There's nothing to do, Yuffie," he told her gently. "This is the way that a condor lives."

"It lives to die?" she asked weakly.

The chief glanced at her appreciatively. "It lives so that its baby can live."

And sure enough, as they watched, the eruption faded, and the explosion died down. And, where once an egg had lay, now there was perched another condor. It was smaller than its mother, but every bit as wonder-filled. And before Yuffie's very eyes, it spread its wings and took to flight.

"There is a legend," the chief told them. "When a condor dies, it gives birth. And when it returns to the planet, the Lifestream shines brighter, and guides its young."

"The Lifestream..." Yuffie whispered, glancing at each of her friends as she considered that.

"That's a very good legend," Red Thirteen told the chief approvingly. "I've heard similar ones in my childhood."

"I'd like to hear them someday," the chief told the giant cat. Red Thirteen nodded obligingly.

"In any case," Cid said, looking down at the block of Huge Materia in his arms. "We need to get back to the airship with this. Besides, after our last two little escapades, ShinRa's gonna be on high alert for any more of our interference. We might wanna lie low for a little while. I kinda wanna check back up on the kids."

"Ya mean Cloud an' Tifa?" Barret asked.

Cid nodded. "Yeah. Knowing Tifa, she might've collapsed by now, taking care o' the guy. Wouldn't hurt nothing to check in."

"You're the leader," Vincent said, walking past his companions. With that said, they all started back towards the airship, each of them wondering how Cloud and Tifa were holding up.


	50. Sorting Through These Memories

**Chapter Forty-Nine: Sorting Through These Memories**

"_It's no use..._

"_I don't understand a thing..._

"_What should I do...?_

"_What if you never recover...?_

"_I want to tell you I do believe in you. When we went on the mission to the Reactor in Midgar, and walked into that trap, and the plate broke, and when you fell from it, I thought you were going to die. There was so much I wanted to tell you at that moment, but I never did. What if I'm never able to? I've been outside recently, and the stars don't shine as bright. They're overshadowed by Meteor. And I'm just so afraid... What if we're never able to sit outside and watch them together again? I want to speak with you, Cloud. I want to talk to you again. Please... Please get well again."_

The creaking was unbearable. She could hear it now… like some rusty metal heartbeat. It never stopped.

Tifa's eyes opened, and she quickly found herself curled up on a large chair a few feet away from the sofa Cloud was resting on, his body still convulsing and still creaking – a sound similar to two knives scraping against each other. Tifa tried ignoring it as she slowly determined the time. It was morning already...

"You're awake."

Tifa glanced around to see the doctor walking into the room with a breakfast tray in his hands. He was smiling at her warmly. "Are you hungry?"

Tifa shook her head as the doctor walked over and set the tray down on a tea table. She saw that he had brought her biscuits, eggs, and juice. He was still watching her knowingly.

"Right," he rolled his eyes. "When was the last time you had a decent meal?" Tifa thought about that, but honestly couldn't remember. They had injected nutrients into her when she had been unconscious in Junon. After her escape... she couldn't remember having eaten anything.

"I'm not hungry," she insisted. It wasn't the entire truth. But at that moment, Tifa was fairly certain that even if she _did_ try eating anything, she wouldn't be able to hold it down. She just felt so miserable.

"Well," the doctor was about to continue, but before he could, the house suddenly and violently trembled.

Tifa sat up straighter in alarm. "What was that?"

"Don't panic," the doctor told her in a surprisingly calm voice, considering the earth seemed to be shaking. "It's just the Lifestream."

"The Lifestream..." Tifa whispered. The Lifestream gushed through the surface of the ocean floor in Mideel. Red Thirteen had told her that. It happened all the time... There was no reason to be afraid. She glanced at the doctor. "It won't hurt us?"

"It's perfectly normal," he assured her as they listened to his front door open and slam. A moment later, another man was in the room, and unlike the doctor, he looked frantic.

"Something's wrong!" he told them in a hurried voice. "The Lifestream's not coming up through the ocean! It's breaking up in the town!"

It was the doctor's turn to turn several shades paler. He stared at the newcomer in shock. "It's never done _that_ before!"

"Times are different," the newcomer said with a shrug. "Planet feels it's in danger, it's not gonna go 'round doing the same old things! I'm helping to alert the town! Everyone needs to evacuate or risk ending up like our little friend." He nodded towards Cloud, who still stared blankly up at the ceiling while his body continued to creak and convulse with his breathing. With that said, the man turned and sprinted from the house.

The doctor glanced back at Tifa. "I take back everything I said. We need to get out of Mideel!"

Tifa was on her feet in less than a second. She grabbed the wheelchair that had been lying in wait beside the sofa and pushed it closer to Cloud. The doctor was immediately at her side, helping to lift the boy into the chair.

And all the while, as they did this, words and images kept flying through Tifa's mind. She knew she had been in worse situations before, but nevertheless, she could hardly breathe. What if they didn't make it through this? Tifa had finally found Cloud again. Would she lose him so soon?

The doctor helped her maneuver the wheelchair outside his house. What they found waiting for them stopped their hearts from beating in their chests.

The ground was cracking in several areas around Mideel. It was like something had taken a giant sledge hammer and used it to reduce the town to rubble. In the distance, the ocean was raging in a practical uproar as pieces of the ground were sent flying into the sky. Houses were being torn apart, and people were screaming as they tried to evacuate. And in the midst of it all there were streams of the most beautiful turquoise light Tifa had ever seen in her life, flowing from one part of the town to the next. She couldn't move as she gazed at it. The Lifestream... She couldn't even breathe.

The doctor turned towards her apologetically. "I have to find my family."

Tifa glanced at him blankly. She had heard his words and understood their meaning, but the world around her was literally falling to pieces and she had no idea what to do. But after a few moments had passed, she found herself finally pulling it together, and she nodded. "I'll take care of Cloud!" The doctor nodded at her gratefully before turning and racing into the town calling several names at the top of his lungs.

For once Tifa's eyes were dry as she started pushing Cloud's wheelchair towards the town's gates. This was no time for her to feel helpless. Cloud's life was in her hands, and she had to see him through this. The Lifestream, for all its power and dangerous beauty, did not frighten her. The only thing that scared her at all was failing Cloud.

So she pushed him over the land that was quaking beneath her feet. Streams of turquoise light often flowed past her, and from them she could sense both life and death... the planet... and she wondered if what she felt at that moment was what the Cetra felt... When the Cetra had still existed.

Without warning, the path before her erupted. Tifa cried out in surprise as the force of the blast sent her flying backwards. She landed heavily on her back, lying on the ground and staring up at the sky above her. It seemed so far away, and if she looked a little to her left, she could see Meteor. It seemed so close.

Motionlessly, she watched as turquoise light flowed through the sky above her. If she were to stand up right then, she would be positioning herself directly in the Lifestream's path. _It was so beautiful..._

The ground on which she lay began to tilt precariously. Tifa felt it moving, and her eyes widened in alarm. She sat up abruptly and saw that the section of land she had fallen on had completely cracked all around her, and was tilting down as if in the process of completely collapsing into itself. Tifa looked down. In the center of the planet, she realized, the Lifestream was flowing vibrantly. She could see it from above ground, for the ground was very quickly turning in on itself, and if she didn't move, she would be thrown down with it.

Instinctively, she reached for something to grab hold of. But there was nothing to steady herself with, or use to pull herself from danger.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Cloud. He was only a few feet away from her, lying sprawled out on the collapsing ground, having fallen out of his wheelchair. Tifa numbly realized that if he fell into the Lifestream again, he probably would not survive. And yet, as the land tilted, his body was slowly rolling down towards the stream beneath the ground.

"Cloud!" Tifa shrieked. She forgot about herself completely as she jumped towards him. She landed on her knees beside the boy as she grabbed him by his shoulders and pulled him close to her. His body was trembling as violently as the earth, and his eyes were shining even brighter as he stared at the Lifestream, unseeing.

The small island they were on suddenly jerked savagely underneath them. Both Tifa and Cloud were sent flying downwards. And Tifa was helpless to stop it as she watched the Lifestream grow closer and brighter. She screamed.

OOOOOOO

It was dark. Tifa's eyes opened, but she couldn't see anything. Where was she? She felt like she was floating. There was no floor. There was no ceiling. No walls of any kind. She was lost in a sea of black nothingness.

Where was Cloud?

Tifa found herself able to spin as she floated in a seemingly black void. So she spun, looking frantically through the darkness for Cloud. But he was nowhere. And she felt alone.

But she wasn't alone. Suddenly she could sense that. There were creatures around her. She could feel them as they closed in on her. She grimaced as something brushed past her, and curled into a floating ball.

"Who's there?" she whispered. She told herself she wouldn't cry, and amazingly enough, she didn't. But even still, she was now afraid. "What's happening? Where's Cloud?"

There were voices. Whispered voices that came at her from all directions. She could hear them, but couldn't understand them. There were so many at once, and they sounded so hurt and angry. Angry? Were they angry at her?

The whispering voices grew louder, but even then, they were still just whispers, and Tifa couldn't hear their words. They wrapped around her like living beings, and Tifa felt them touching her skin. It wasn't a sickening feeling. It felt cold and warm at once, and Tifa sensed that whatever it was simply wanted to see her. Find out who she was and what she was doing there. It was still hurt and angry, and the whispers suddenly turned accusatory. Its grip on her tightened.

"Stop it!" Tifa shouted. She found herself struggling to get away. "I didn't do anything!"

It was the planet... Was the planet blaming her for its pain? Or taking it out on her because she was human, and humans were responsible?

"Please stop..." she whispered, ceasing her struggles. She gave in to it then, and allowed it to wash over her with violent intensity. "All I want... is to find Cloud..."

The darkness swept over her, and Tifa drowned in it.

OOOOOOO

Everything was green. Not just any green, but a kind of special green. The same color from the caves on Mt. Nibel. She had seen this color green many times before in her childhood. There was something warm about it. Familiar and comforting.

Tifa sat up and looked around. She was in a whole different realm. Everything seemed so bizarre. She couldn't describe it. Everything was green, from the ground to the very air around her.

The ground... Tifa looked down. She was sitting on a small circular island that looked somewhat like a lily pad. A lily pad made from Materia. There were others like it, close enough together for her to step from one to the next. They were suspended high up in the air, and when she crawled to the edge of one and looked over the side, she could not see the ground below her.

But that didn't frighten her. Everything about this place, though so fantastic and unreal, was, as she had already thought, familiar to her. It was not like she had been there before or anything, for she had no idea where she was. It was too tangible to be a dream, and yet there was something surrounding her that she recognized.

She stood up and continued looking around. There were green orbs in the air around her. There had to have been hundreds of them, suspended above the ground like floating marbles. It seemed so magical.

Tifa stepped off the Materia lily pad and onto the next. She didn't know where she was, but she couldn't just sit in one place. She had to try finding her way back to the world that she knew. The world that was about to be destroyed by Meteor.

_Everything seems so surreal here,_ she thought as she walked through the strange realm she had awoken in. Like a dream. But not hers.

As she walked, she could make out several figures in the distance. There were people ahead of her!

"Hey!" Tifa started towards them, running from one lily pad to the next as she quickly covered the distance between them. But then she realized who those people were, and she found herself stopping short in surprise.

"Cloud!"

Her voice echoed as she slowly stepped towards them. They were all Cloud! She could see four of them. One Cloud waiting motionlessly on three different sections of the same Materia pad. And the forth one suspended above the rest, floating with the strange orbs in the sky.

Tifa trembled as she walked onto the pad with them. Her heart pounded violently as she slowly turned in a circle, taking them all in. One of the three Clouds looked like he was still just a boy, but all of them were wearing the same expressions. Or rather, lack of expressions. They all looked devoid of life. They were breathing and conscious, but blank. On the bright side, she thought dully to herself, at least their bodies weren't convulsing.

Tifa walked up to one of the Clouds. He was sitting on the ground, staring out into the distance as if he were looking for something. And was unable to find it. Tifa sat down beside him and gently took his hands in hers.

"What is this place?" she asked him gently, even though she knew better than to expect an answer. "Is this your dream? Is that why it feels familiar to me? Or is it _you_? Are we in your subconscious?" Could the Lifestream have brought her inside of him? Inside his mind? She squeezed his hands in an attempt to comfort him. She had to be strong right now, she told herself. Because if they were inside Cloud's mind, she knew how easily she could rip it apart.

"You're searching, aren't you?" she couldn't take her eyes from him. He seemed so lost. Even devoid of all expression, he looked so sad and alone. "I'll help you find yourself. But I don't know where to start."

"The gates of Nibelheim."

Tifa's heart pounded in her throat as she realized Cloud had spoken. She gazed at him in both surprise and relief as she listened to his voice. He knew she was there! He could hear her! He wasn't alone.

But he was still lost, and he didn't look at her. He was gazing into the distance, and when Tifa turned to follow that gaze, she found herself staring straight into the heart of Nibelheim!

"Five years ago," Cloud said softly. "Sephiroth past through those gates. That's how it all started."

Tifa gazed into the image of their childhood home. She watched as Sephiroth walked into the town. But she ignored him as she stared into Nibelheim. It seemed more like her home now than it had when she had last been there with Cloud, Aeris, Barret, and the rest. She realized Cloud felt the same way about their home as she did. He _felt_.

She smiled. "Look Cloud. I can see the well. And Gramps's Inn. Do you remember? That was the only truck in the town." She glanced at him, but his expression was still blank. She squeezed his hand again. "This is exactly how I remember it, Cloud. That's what makes this place... _our_ Nibelheim." They had been there together, whether Sephiroth denied it or not. And yet... it wasn't enough to convince _him_.

She looked back at the image of their home and continued to watch. "Five years ago, two men from SOLDIER came. Sephiroth and... a vibrant young man." She had known it had been Zack. But she hadn't told Cloud because she had feared _her_ memories were the ones that were wrong. But... because she hadn't told him... Sephiroth had. She closed her eyes in regret. That was not the way she had wanted Cloud to find out.

"Five years ago," she said again. "I saw the real Sephiroth for the very first time. But to tell you the truth, I thought he was very cold." She opened her eyes and glanced back at the illusion Cloud's mind had created. Sephiroth was there speaking with another image of Cloud. That was how he remembered it. Tifa shook her head sorrowfully. "No, Cloud."

She turned to look at him, even though he wasn't looking at her. "I've been hiding it for some time. I've been too afraid to tell you. But I can't anymore..." She squeezed his hand again. He needed to hear the truth. She needed to admit the truth. Or they would never learn it. "You weren't here. You didn't come to Nibelheim five years ago. I waited... But you never came. The two men ordered to our home were Sephiroth and another man. His name was Zack."

_Zack!_

Something in Cloud's eyes shifted, and he glanced at her for the first time. "You mean that member of SOLDIER who came with Sephiroth wasn't..."

"Ssh," she reached up to touch his face. "Not too much at once. We're going to take this slowly, okay?" She moved away from him then, and he didn't follow. He turned back to stare into Nibelheim.

Tifa felt her heart weigh heavy in her chest as she turned away from him. There still were two other Clouds in her reach, and they were all a part of the Cloud that she knew. She couldn't just concentrate on one part of him. She had to see all of him through this.

She walked up to the Cloud who was still just a boy and knelt down beside him, gazing warmly at his face. He looked so young and inquisitive, even then, when his face was expressionless. He stared into the distance.

"That starry night at the well," he said. Tifa turned to follow his gaze and could see an image of that night seven years ago. Cloud did not look at her as he continued to speak. "Our promise that night... what if it's just a lie?"

"Sephiroth said that your memories were created through mine," Tifa said softly. "In this memory, with us at the well, it was just the two of us. No one else. So everything about that night had to have been dreamt up by me, and then put into you. If Sephiroth wasn't lying. But I don't believe him. The truth is more than just memories. Because the truth is what happened, while memories are just what we remember. They have to be consciously recalled, and the more time that passes, the harder it is to recall them. So they can be changed and mistaken. But the truth can't change. It's locked up in our hearts, and if we can just find it we can prove Sephiroth was lying to us!"

She turned to look back at him, and she saw that for the first time, the boy beside her was no longer expressionless. His face was twisted slightly, as if he was torn between hope and despair. She gently reached out to him and turned his face towards her.

"If that night was created by me," she said softly. "Then there could have been nothing about it that was created by you. Because if Sephiroth was telling the truth, then you don't have any memories. You just share mine. But there must be something about that night that proves your memories are different from mine. That your memories are uniquely yours. And that Sephiroth was wrong. Tell me something about that night that I couldn't possibly have thought up. Something that only you knew."

He stared at her for a moment, but then looked down. His eyes were so full of sorrow, Tifa half expected him to cry.

She bit her lip thoughtfully. What could he tell her? And then she knew. "Cloud. Why did you want to join SOLDIER? It felt so sudden. It was so unexpected."

"I..." Cloud hesitated, and looked back out into the distance. "I was devastated." He looked down again. "Don't you remember, Tifa? When we were kids... we weren't close."

Tifa started at that, and stared at him in amazement. _Had he just said that?_ They weren't close? They had grown up together!

But then she looked down as the truth of that matter swept over her. They had grown up together; they had been childhood friends... but not _best_ friends. That was half the reason why she didn't care if Sephiroth proved to be right all along. Because the memories of her childhood weren't as important to her as the time she spent with Cloud right now was. The present was more important than the past, because in the past, they hadn't been as close as they were today.

"But I wanted us to be close," the boy beside her said. "I wanted... you to notice me." He looked up at her. "Do you remember the first time you climbed Mt. Nibel?"

"The first time?" Tifa frowned, and shook her head. "I _always_ was on that mountain, Cloud. I used to feel like I lived to climb it. I don't remember the first time."

"We were so young," Cloud looked away from her again. "And you had other things on your mind. You always used to be a part of this one group. I was never allowed in, but I always watched, because I wanted to find a way to show you... that I was worth your attention."

Guilt flowed through Tifa. She didn't remember that. She had never noticed. But she had just been a child back then. And children... were just that. But still... Tifa thought she could understand what Cloud was saying.

"The first time you climbed Mt. Nibel," he told her. "Was after your mother had died."

Tifa's heart started racing furiously. "I don't remember that..." she looked back out over the distance and could see the illusion he was creating for her. She could see herself with her two other friends she had always played with when she was young. They all looked so small. And Cloud was watching from the shadows.

"_I wonder if there's anything beyond that mountain,"_ the little girl that had been Tifa said.

One of her friends turned towards her sympathetically. _"You shouldn't think those things, Tifa. Mt. Nibel is scary. People die there. No one crosses that mountain alive!"_

"_What if they're not alive?"_ Tifa asked. _"What if my mama passed through? I'm gonna go! I'm gonna find her!"_

Tifa's heart was racing as she watched the image of herself hurry towards the mountain. Had that been her first time? She had been so young when her mother had died. She couldn't remember any of this...

"I was afraid for you," Cloud told her. "I had heard the same stories, and I didn't want anything to happen to you. So I ran after, hoping that maybe I could finally prove myself worthy of your attention if I could rescue you. I don't remember the path I walked. But I remember you missing your step. I ran after you, but I didn't get there in time. We both fell down the mountain, and you hit your head."

"I did?" Tifa whispered.

Cloud nodded. "You were in a coma for seven days. We all thought you weren't going to make it. I got by with only scrapped knees. People blamed me for it. And I blamed myself. I couldn't rescue you then, and when you woke up, you didn't remember it. So when everyone else kept blaming me, you didn't know what they were blaming me for. And I was so angry."

"I'm sorry," Tifa clenched her eyes shut and thought as hard as she could to remember. And though her memories didn't return, she could feel that all of it was true. And suddenly, she knew. "I think... That was why I wanted you to make the promise that night. I knew you wanted to protect me. You were the only one who followed me onto the mountain... my mother had died, and I wanted someone to comfort me. And you were the one who came. And even though I don't remember that, and even though we weren't close as kids... that's why I wanted it to be you when you left to join SOLDIER, and no one else, to promise to be my hero."

"Before that," Cloud said. "I got out of control, I was so angry. I used to get into fights without even caring what they were about. Before long, someone told me about Sephiroth. And I thought, if I could just grow strong like him, than not even you could keep ignoring me. So I decided to join SOLDIER."

Tifa stared at him for a moment more in silence. That was why... She knew now... Cloud had filled her in on a part of their past that she had never understood before. Sephiroth was wrong! If he hadn't been completely mistaken, then he had been lying to them! Cloud's memories _couldn't_ have been made by anyone other than _him_! They certainly hadn't been made by her, because this was the first time she truly understood what he had been feeling all those years ago. And it was how you _felt_ that mattered. Memories could fade, and they could be twisted and manipulated... but your feelings couldn't be made by Sephiroth or Jenova. _Cloud's_ feelings hadn't been made by Tifa.

"You're almost there, Cloud," she told him confidently. "We're going to get through this. Wait here." She stood and turned towards the third Cloud. She smiled softly as she walked towards him. He didn't even wait for her to touch him. He knew she was there.

"Look," he told her softly. "The Mako Reactor of Nibelheim. Five years ago." She stepped to his side and looked out into the distance for the next vision of their past.

She could see the Reactor on Mt. Nibel. She had been there five years ago, having guided Sephiroth, Zack, and two other guards up to it that day. But she hadn't been allowed in. Sephiroth had told the two guards to wait outside with her while he and Zack went in to fix the Reactor.

She glanced at Cloud. "It wasn't you. It was Zack. But you keep saying that you were there. Did you see it?"

Cloud stared blankly at the vision in front of them. His face was expressionless, but when he spoke, his voice was confident. "I saw everything."

Tifa frowned, and looked back at the images uncertainly. It had changed. It was still the Reactor, but it was later that night. After the fire. After Tifa's father had been slain. Zack had gone to face Sephiroth, but he had not been able to fight the more powerful warrior.

And yet, as Tifa watched, another guard appeared. It had been one of the guards whose company Tifa had been left in earlier that day at the Reactor. Now he was standing there in that chamber, watching Tifa attack Sephiroth. He watched as Sephiroth slashed his blade through her chest. He watched as Sephiroth turned and walked through the door he had opened. And then the guard pulled his helmet off. Much to Tifa's amazement, she saw that it was Cloud! His face had been hidden underneath both the helmet and its visor. He hurried over to the girl that Sephiroth had subdued.

Shocked, Tifa's hands covered her mouth. "You had been there all along! I hadn't been dreaming! You and Zack had _both_ been there!"

"Zack had been my friend," Cloud told her. "We had been close friends." He glanced at her emotionlessly. "I never made it in SOLDIER. I left my hometown telling everyone I was going to join. But I didn't succeed. I was so embarrassed. When I realized I was going to Nibelheim with Sephiroth and Zack, and I didn't want anyone to see. Especially not you. So I hid underneath the helmet's visor and wore it like a mask. And no one knew."

He looked back at the image of that night in the Reactor. Zack had fallen at the hands of Sephiroth. Cloud went to him and took up his sword, and went to fight Sephiroth in the Reactor's second chamber. This was where Materia was condensed. This was where Jenova had been stored. Cloud challenged Sephiroth there. And when the stronger warrior came down on the boy, Cloud somehow managed to get out of the way. Somehow, he managed to evade Sephiroth's attacks, until Sephiroth made a mistake of his own. And somehow, Cloud had managed to push the older man into one of the open pits leading down straight into the Mako that the Reactor condensed. Sephiroth could not possibly have survived. There would have been no way to climb out of that pit, and the Mako poisoning would surely have finished him off.

"But that didn't end it," Cloud said. "Shortly after, your uncle, Hojo, and several other ShinRa employees found us up there. You were taken to Midgar. Zack and I were both taken to the Shinra Mansion. We were experimented on. Hojo was trying to turn us into Sephiroth clones by injecting us with genetically engineered Jenova cells, infused with Mako energy. It didn't work on Zack at all. And it failed with me. I wasn't Sephiroth when I woke up. They were going to get rid of me, then, but Zack had broken out, and he came and rescued me. We had been friends after all, and he wouldn't leave me there."

"What happened?" Tifa asked.

"I was sick," Cloud told her. "I was practically in a stupor. I had no idea who I was, but I had to have been a burden to Zack. I slowed him down. The ShinRa were after us, but he still kept trying to make sure I survived. He told me stories. I don't know if he thought I could hear them, but he still related to me everything that had happened in Nibelheim. He told me about himself. And he suggested we should become mercenaries together when we escaped ShinRa. It sounded good to me. All of it sounded so good." He turned towards her again. "I wasn't happy with who I was, Tifa. I was so ashamed, so embarrassed, that I just wanted to be someone else. I couldn't be the Cloud from your childhood. And I couldn't be Sephiroth. But as I escaped with Zack, I realized that _he_ was who I wanted to be. And so soon after being injected with Jenova cells, I found it so easy to just believe that I _was_ Zack. I believed it, and I set out to convince the world that it was the truth."

"What happened to Zack?" Tifa asked softly.

"He was killed," Cloud said, looking down. "Outside of Midgar. The ShinRa caught up with us. Zack fought so that I could escape, but he died in the process. The ShinRa were satisfied with his death, because I was still in that stupor. They thought I would die on my own, and they didn't want to waste their time looking for me, because by that point I had somehow managed to get myself into the slums where I hid. And where you found me."

"So that was how it happened," Tifa whispered. She shook her head in amazement. "But that _is_ what happened! That's the truth! You're really _you_! Sephiroth was lying about you being _just_ a clone!"

"But I'm still not what I want to be," he said miserably. "I don't want to be the one who didn't make it in SOLDIER. I don't want to be the one who was so weak he had to pretend to be someone else when he failed to become Sephiroth's clone." He looked at her. "I don't want to be the one you never notice."

"But Cloud..." She reached out to caress his face tenderly. "I did notice you. Seven years ago, when you left Nibelheim. I thought about you all the time. I read the newspapers... I wanted to hear about how you were doing. You were always on my mind."

He stared at her uncertainly. "I was?"

"And even now," she told him. "I just want to be with you. The _real_ you. And this is who you really are. You're stronger... And Sephiroth can't hurt you. We know the truth now. He can't confuse us anymore."

Without a word, the Cloud in front of her faded.

Tifa felt her heart jolt as she spun around. The other two Clouds had faded as well. For a moment, she couldn't breathe. What was-?

But then, she looked up. The fourth Cloud. The one who had been suspended above her. He was still there, and now he was slowly lowering himself to the ground. He wasn't facing her, but he corrected that before she could move. He turned, and when he looked at her, she saw that his entire countenance had changed. He looked softer, and warmer, but though it was sorrow expressed on his face, at least it was emotion... He was alive again. And he was himself.

"Cloud!" Tifa raced towards him and he easily caught her in his arms. His body felt relaxed, but solid. He was normal again. Tifa felt tears in her eyes. Tears of relief. "You stupid jerk... You had us all worried!"

"I'm sorry," he told her gently. "I just... felt lost." He pulled back from her slightly and stared down at her with a small smile. "You didn't leave me."

She shook her head. "I never wanted anything but to be with you."

He nodded, but then he grimaced, shutting his eyes as if he had been struck by a sudden headache. Tifa stared at him in concern, but then she, too, felt it.

The green realm Cloud had brought them into suddenly faded, and they were suspended in darkness. The same darkness, Tifa realized, from before. There were voices all around them. Whispering voices that sounded hurt and angry.

Cloud pulled Tifa close to him as those whispering voices swept around them, but this time, neither of them were afraid. They were together. Nothing could hurt them.

Tifa looked up at the mercenary. "This is the Lifestream? We have to get out! The others could be waiting!"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. We have to save the planet from Meteor."

The dark void slowly began to radiate with a soft turquoise light. It flowed around them like the stream that it was a part of. Cloud and Tifa, holding each other close, gave in to it, and were swept away in its current.

It wasn't what Tifa would have thought. She would have expected something more painful. Mako poisoning... should be something like the poisonous gas ShinRa tried to execute her with... But it wasn't anything like that at all.

As Tifa was swept through the Lifestream, she was reminded of the shower she had taken on Cid's airship. She had felt cleaner then. But now she was beginning to feel like she was being purified. There was something different about being bathed in the Lifestream. Her fears and her doubts were washed from her mind. And though nothing could have taken her sorrow away, she felt like she was overcoming the pain they had brought her. She was healing. And she could sense that Cloud, though maybe on a lesser scale, was slowly bringing himself to heal as well.

Suddenly they felt the Lifestream gush through the surface of the planet. A moment later, they were engulfed by water. They were in the ocean!

Tifa let go of Cloud and held only his hand as the two of them pushed off towards the surface. They swam quickly and confidently, and before long, they once again broke through it and were above the water.

Tifa gasped for breath as she turned towards Cloud, who was treading beside her. And as they caught their breaths, the world seemed to grow calm and still around them. The chaos had ebbed, and everything was the way it should be.

Tifa smiled then at the mercenary, feeling happy for the first time in far too long. But Cloud, she realized, did not return that smile, and was not feeling the same.

"I wasn't strong enough to join SOLDIER," he said. "People join SOLDIER by getting into tanks and then by getting showered with Mako energy. If someone isn't strong enough to handle that, they get lost in it. I became a ShinRa guard after I proved too weak. And then I was injected with Jenova cells and even _more_ Mako energy. And I got even more lost in that. When Zack died, I was given this chance to become someone I wasn't, and I created this entire world that suited what I wanted. And I've been playing that charade for so long... I'm not sure I know how not to. I don't know who I am anymore."

"Cloud," she squeezed his hand one more time. "No one knows who they are. They're always looking to find out. What's important is that we know who you _aren't_. You _aren't_ Zack. But you _aren't_ Sephiroth's puppet either. You're just _you_. And I wanna be with you every step you take to find out who that is."

He stared at her, and Tifa knew then that the Lifestream hadn't healed Cloud of all his wounds. It would take time to do that. He had suffered so much, and she knew scars would be left. That was just the way their lives had taken them.

"Come on," she suggested. "Meteor's not gonna wait around for us. It's like Barret says. We can't get off this train until the very end. Let's go save the planet."

"It's my fault Meteor's coming," Cloud whispered. He nodded. "You're right. We have to stop it." He turned with her then, and they both began to swim back towards Mideel. Their hearts then lightened considerably as they looked to the sky and saw an airship above them. The Highwind had returned for them, and they were ready to rejoin their friends on their quest to save the planet.


	51. Carrying On

**Chapter Fifty: Carrying On**

"Cloud!"

Yuffie literally could not wait for him or Tifa to climb aboard the airship. She tossed the rope ladder down herself and zipped down it faster than she had ever moved in her life. Cloud and Tifa watched in astonishment as the teenager turned and dove into the mercenary's arms. "You're back!"

"Hey, Yuffie," he said a little awkwardly. "How've you been?"

"I've been great!" she pulled back from him in excitement, literally bouncing on her feet. "We've stolen two pieces of Materia from ShinRa! The airship's Cid's, but we had to steal _that_ too! And we rescued Tifa from a gas chamber! Barret's on speaking terms with his town again and a baby condor was born! Cid's our new-"

"Yuffie!" Cid was the next one down the ladder. "Damn it, girl! Give him a moment to breathe!"

She smiled sheepishly as Barret, Red Thirteen, Cait Sithe, and Vincent all joined her on the ground. One by one, they greeted Cloud and Tifa, either by handshake or embrace, though Red Thirteen had it rather difficult on the first choice and decided to stick with the second.

Barret was studying Cloud critically. "Ya look different."

"I do?" Cloud frowned, subconsciously reaching his hand up to touch his face. He glanced at Tifa uncertainly, but she just smiled.

"He's been in the Lifestream," she explained, looking back at Barret. "He looks different because he _is_ different. He's not the Cloud you all know who was in SOLDIER. Now he's just Cloud Strife from Nibelheim. He's who he _really_ is."

"Wait a damn minute!" Barret glowered at Cloud bitterly. "Ya mean after all this time ya never was in SOLDIER?"

"It's a long story," the mercenary said, somewhat sheepishly. "I wasn't cut out to be in SOLDIER, so I ended up being an ordinary guard. I did go to Nibelheim five years ago, but I hid my face so no one knew. Afterwards, I ended up in Hojo's lab in the Shinra basement. I was injected with Jenova cells, and after that, I just created this illusion that I had everyone believing. Even myself."

"Damn," Barret shook his head in distaste. "Ya messed up, kid."

"Everyone messes up!" Yuffie jumped to the mercenary's defense. "We've all made mistakes! And now we have a chance to make up for them!"

"Got that right," Cid agreed, turning back towards Cloud thoughtfully. "You know, if you ask me, I'd say you look older. I mean, more mature. You've grown up."

"How do you feel?" Vincent asked.

Cloud glanced at the former Turk as he considered that question. "I feel stronger. I'm not afraid."

"If we go up against Sephiroth," Barret interjected. "Is he still gonna be able ta control ya?"

"I don't know," Cloud admitted honestly. "There will always be Jenova cells inside my body now. There's no changing that. But... I've been in the Lifestream. I know the truth now, and he can't twist it around anymore. And... when I think about facing him now... I feel certain that I can handle myself. That I can match him."

"If you ask me," Vincent said softly. "You do look up for it."

"Besides, you won't be doing it alone!" Yuffie assured him enthusiastically. "We're all stronger now! Hey!" She turned towards Cloud as a look of awe came over her face. Even now, she _still_ couldn't get over it. "Did you know Vincent can turn into a monster?"

OOOOOOO

The group gathered on the outside deck of the airship as one of Cid's crew members piloted it with no real destination in mind. Yuffie spent the time distracting herself from her motion sickness by relating the past few days' events to Cloud and Tifa.

"We couldn't agree on whether or not to trust the ShinRa with the Huge Materia," she was saying cheerfully. "Blasting it into Meteor might very well destroy it, but it would also put ShinRa in command of a very powerful weapon, and some of us didn't want that." She glowered pointedly at Vincent and Red Thirteen, but both of them ignored her. She turned back to Cloud. "So we made Cid our leader."

"Didn't want that," Cid grumbled. He glared at Cloud. "Good thing you're back. _You're_ in charge now. Not me."

Cloud nodded with a small smile. He turned back towards Yuffie. "It's a good thing you guys stole that Materia."

"Why's that?" Vincent asked.

"Because Materia is precious," the mercenary explained. "They borrow their power from the planet itself. There are generations of knowledge and wisdom inside each piece of Materia that we would all lose if we used it so wastefully." He glanced at Red Thirteen. "You should know that."

Red Thirteen nodded. "I do. But how is it that you do?" Cloud frowned, and wondered about that himself.

"I think I could feel it," Tifa answered for him. She sat on the deck floor, curled up in a comfortable ball. "In the Lifestream. I feel like there's so much more about the planet that I know now. Even if the Huge Materia is used to save the planet from Meteor... in a way... it would be like killing a part of the planet. We'd be sacrificing a part of it. But the planet doesn't want to make that sacrifice. It doesn't want any part of it to die."

"So you're saying the planet would be upset if we allow ShinRa to use its Materia to stop Meteor," Vincent considered that thoughtfully.

"The Materia doesn't belong to us," Cloud replied. "It's not ours to sacrifice. If anything, we should use the Huge Materia to defeat Sephiroth and find another way altogether to stop Meteor."

"But what way is there?" Yuffie asked. Cloud shook his head. He wasn't sure.

"Maybe this is best thought out later," Cait Sithe interrupted. He glanced apologetically at Cloud. "There's an underwater Reactor at Junon. The last Huge Materia left is located there. We should probably get it before ShinRa does."

Tifa tensed at the mention of Junon. The last time she had been there, she had been thrown into a gas chamber. Returning didn't exactly appeal to her. The others all noticed and glanced at her sympathetically. Cloud was frowning.

"Yuffie said something about a gas chamber..." He gazed at her. "I won't let any of them hurt you."

She nodded firmly. "I know." She even managed a small smile after that. Returning might not appeal to her... but she was not afraid.


	52. Junon Submarines

**Chapter Fifty-One: Junon Submarines**

The Highwind touched down at a relatively good distance from Junon, and the team headed into the city on foot. They had decided to follow the same old plan they had used the first time they had stolen their way into that city. Hide out in the town underneath the military plate where ShinRa would not be looking.

Not only was it a comfort to Tifa, who easily preferred the town over the military plate above, but it was also a necessity. They were heading towards an underwater Reactor. That meant they couldn't easily reach it from the top plate. They needed to be on ground level with the sea.

And though they had friends in Junon, they wasted no time on them. They all felt the urgency to get to the Huge Materia as quickly as they could, so that they might reach it before ShinRa did. Therefore, they had to get to the water's edge as quickly as possible.

Cloud led Cid and Vincent as stealthily as he could towards the docks. Because the water was so shallow near the beach, the main dock had been built stretching a good hundred yards out until the sea grew deep enough for submarines to pull up alongside it.

The dock itself was both wooden and steel, and relatively huge. From where Cloud, Cid, and Vincent positioned themselves behind several of the fishing boats, they could see ShinRa sailors, technicians, and other such employees going about their business atop of it. There weren't any ships in, but Vincent quickly pointed out two subs that were both being prepared to launch. Getting to them would be tricky. Cloud realized they would either have to cross over the top of the dock, where they would be easily spotted, for there was no good cover between them and the subs, or they would have to sneak to the water and swim underneath the dock to their destination. And they were holding _that_ thought in reserve. Neither Cid nor Vincent had been with the team the first time they had been to Junon, but Cloud clearly remembered the monster they had fought to save Priscilla. However, both the pilot and the former Turk could see for themselves how contaminated the water looked, and that by itself was enough to turn them away from the idea of swimming out to the submarines.

Tifa and the others were waiting farther back inland. As it was, Cloud was fairly certain there was no getting into one of the subs undetected. It would definitely be impossible if all eight of them were to try at once. So while Cloud, Cid, and Vincent approached, the others held back to wait and supply possible reinforcing, should it come to that.

"They're launching the first sub," Vincent said quietly. And sure enough, as the three of them watched, several sailors and technicians on the dock were guiding one of the submarines as it pulled away from the dock. A moment later it was on its own, a fair distance from land, and it dove under.

"Damn," Cid muttered under his breath. "We gotta get to the second sub and intercept it."

"Any ideas?" Cloud asked. Vincent glanced over at him thoughtfully.

"Those men aren't fighters," he told the mercenary. "We can easily hijack the submarine. Whatever guards there were got onto that first sub, and there's no way ShinRa can stop us from taking the second one if we go now and by force. The only problem will lie with returning back up to the surface. By that point, ShinRa will have noticed and will surely send some force to intercept us."

As the former Turk had been speaking, someone had crept towards them from behind. Both Vincent and Cloud could sense it. For whoever was approaching them could _hardly_ have been called stealthy. Only Cid, who was focused entirely on the dock and subs, was oblivious to the presence behind them.

Vincent waited for several more seconds before he swiftly drew his gun and spun around. Cloud moved at the same time, turning while reaching for his sword. But as soon as he saw the figure behind them, he stayed his hand and reached towards Vincent to stay his as well.

For the tiny figure that had been approaching them was in fact a little girl. One whom Cloud had met before. Priscilla. Her eyes were alight and intent on the mercenary.

Cid cursed as he realized he was missing the action. He turned around quickly, his right hand tightly gripping his spear, but when he saw the girl, he cursed again as he relaxed. Vincent, lowering his gun, watched Cloud closely as the mercenary glanced back at the girl in both annoyance and concern.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded. "Are you here alone? You should know better!"

"It's not night out!" she quickly defended herself. "I came to see Mr. Dolphin! But I saw you first!"

Cloud's heart clenched as he remembered that night at sea where the dolphin danced for him and Aeris. But then he shook his head slightly as their present situation returned swiftly to his mind. He glowered disapproving at the girl. "You should go home now."

She pouted. "But I wanna know what's going on! First, ShinRa moves their big canon away! An' now you're here again, but you didn't even stop to say hi, and-"

Cloud felt his body tense at the words Priscilla had just spoken. He glanced swiftly at Cid and Vincent, both of whom seemed as surprised and stunned as he felt. He turned back towards the little girl. "Priscilla... what did you say about the canon?"

They had approached Junon on foot and from land. The Junon Canon was located on top of the plate, and faced out to sea. None of them had been able to see it as they had entered the town, and so therefore none of them had noticed its absence. If it was indeed absent, as Priscilla had said.

She nodded her head importantly. "Yeah! Their big old canon was moved out of the city just a few days ago! They gave no explanation or anything like that, and it made a big old commotion! My uncle says they're up ta something!"

Cid nodded. "Yeah, well when _aren't_ they up to something?" He looked at Cloud. "They'd need something more than a fu-" he glanced sheepishly at Priscilla for a second, then turned back to the mercenary. "More than a canon to blast Meteor outta the sky. They're planning something else, too."

"All right," Cloud nodded his head with sudden decisiveness. He turned towards Cid. "Take Priscilla back to the others. One of them will see that she gets home safely. Vincent and I will commandeer the sub and get the Huge Materia. We'll surface several miles north of here. You make sure the airship's somewhere we can see it, and we'll rendezvous. In the meantime, I want you to see what you can find out about the canon."

Cid nodded and was about to reply when Priscilla interrupted, having grown bored with their conversation.

"Is Miss Aeris here?"

All three men felt their hearts stop short as they turned slowly back towards the little girl. She was gazing up at them quite innocently. "I want to tell her about what Mr. Dolphin did for me last week."

Cid glanced helplessly at Cloud, who sighed unhappily and walked over to kneel in front of the child.

"Priscilla," he said softly, looking gently into the girl's wide, bright eyes. And he found that he couldn't bring himself to tell her. She was still just a child. And it wasn't a crime to shelter small children. The crime was forcing small children to grow up. "Aeris didn't come with us this time. She really wanted to, because she wanted to tell you about how we saw your Mr. Dolphin after we left last time. But she couldn't."

Priscilla considered that for a moment, but ultimately it proved to be acceptable in her mind. She smiled broadly. "Well that's okay! Tell her I missed her, and she has to come see me the next time she's in Junon!"

Cloud nodded. "I'll tell her that." All the while, his heart felt like it was breaking all over again.

Cid walked over to the girl and picked her up in his arms. "Come on, kid. I'll see you get home." Much to Cloud's relief, Priscilla did not object.

He turned back towards Vincent. "You ready?" The former Turk nodded silently, and without another word, the two of them raced towards the dock with their weapons drawn.

OOOOOOO

"I don't believe it," Tifa watched as Cid approached the portion of the beach where she and her friends all hid on. It was the same area where they had originally met Priscilla, a relatively good distance away from the docks, and a pretty safe place to wait.

Cait Sithe frowned and scratched his head. "Who's the captain carrying?"

"It's that girl we saved the first time we came to Junon!" Yuffie declared in instant recognition, even though Cid wasn't anywhere near them yet.

Barret frowned and crossed his arms. "That annoying girl? Don' remember her name..." Red Thirteen looked up at him in some amusement.

"Her name is Priscilla," Tifa reminded them, before she ran out to meet Cid. The others followed, and the little girl seemed absolutely flattered by the sudden attention that was poured over her. But then her eyes caught sight of Cait Sithe, and suddenly the little cat was the one showered with attention... much to his distress, and the rest of the group's amusement.

Cid was quick to relate the new information to his friends. The information about the apparently missing canon and Cloud's idea to pretty much steal the sub as they had stolen the airship. All the while, Priscilla was dancing around in a little circle, squeezing the small cat close to her chest. She was laughing, and the others allowed her her fun, no matter what Cait Sithe cried, pleading for rescuing.

Tifa was crossing her arms in serious contemplation. "I can't imagine where they plan on taking the canon. It worked against one of the Weapons... Maybe they want to put it in a more strategic place to fight the others."

"I wonder where that place would be," Red Thirteen considered, looking away from them and shaking his head.

"Cloud wants us to see if we can find out," Cid said, lighting a cigarette as he spoke. "Don't know how long he's gonna take in the sub, so we should hurry, just to be ahead." The others nodded, and turned back towards Priscilla and Cait Sithe. The former seemed to be having the time of her life. The latter looked completely miserable.

OOOOOOO

As Vincent had predicted, it proved rather easy to actually get on board the second submarine. However, once they had, they realized there were several unforeseen obstacles between them and the sub's control station. They came in the way of several ShinRa guards who had in fact already been posted inside the sub.

The mercenary and the former Turk were making their way slowly from the entrance trunk to the controls. But the way proved difficult, for the corridor they were in was small and filled with equipment that might be, for all Cloud knew, vital to the submarine. The ShinRa knew the sub better than either Cloud or Vincent did, so they immediately had all the advantages. And what was worse... there was barely room in the sub to move around in, much less to draw a sword!

Presently, Cloud was crouched down in what looked like some kind of tiny mess deck. He was behind a bench, a couple feet to the left of Vincent. Guns were firing at them, though bullets didn't exactly bother the former Turk. He was standing tall, facing their enemies boldly as he fired back. And somewhere in the middle of all of this, an alarm had been sounded.

Eventually, the shooting stopped. Cloud glanced expectantly up at Vincent, who immediately returned the gaze.

"More will come," he quickly warned the mercenary. Cloud nodded, pushing himself up to his feet. They quickly, and cautiously, made their way into the corridor and towards the control room.

Upon entering, they quickly found themselves fighting several more ShinRa guards. The control room was full of radars, navigational equipment, and control panels. There were two plotting tables and two large periscopes between them and a man they guessed had to be the Skipper. He, too, wielded a gun and was commanding the men defending the sub.

Vincent stood in front of Cloud, taking several bullets in his body, but with little effect. The former Turk, Cloud was realizing, was not easy to hurt. All the while, he fired back, taking care not to injure any of the men who could steer the sub for them.

As Vincent worked, Cloud sorted through his Materia until he found one that would be helpful. He gripped it tightly in his hand and felt its power surge through him. He glanced up at Vincent. "Close your eyes!"

Vincent obliged immediately, and the Materia in Cloud's hand flashed a brilliant orange. Instantly, every one in the room, other than the two intruders, were crying out in alarm as they dropped whatever was in their hands and reached up to touch their faces. Or rather, their eyes. For Cloud had temporarily blinded them.

Without pausing to even catch their breaths, Cloud and Vincent strode into the room, confiscating weapons and tossing them carefully into a pile in the corner. As they did this, they knocked out most of the ShinRa, leaving only those who could get them to the Reactor conscious. And _those_ men found that their wrists were the first ones bound in front of them.

It was all a very quick and methodical process. The mercenary and the former Turk worked well together, and before long not only were the helmsmen bound, but so were the unconscious prisoners as well. All the while, Cloud gave them orders as their sight slowly returned.

They would, in fact, be diving under after the first submarine. They would be going down to the Reactor to collect the Huge Materia. By this point, the alarm had been turned off, and all other emergency precautions diverted. Before long, the submarine was on its way, diving under the ocean water and after the other sub.

"How far away is it?" Cloud asked one of the helmsmen.

"Not far," the man replied timidly. After all, _he_ wasn't a fighter. The sub they were in was used mainly to transport Materia back and forth from the Reactor to Junon. He certainly had never been in a situation like this one before, and he was scared. He glanced nervously up at Cloud. "The other sub is already on its way back up."

"Does it have the Huge Materia in it?" Cloud asked.

"It would be safe to assume," the man replied, unexpectedly cooperative. "We'd have to ask to be sure. But..." He glanced over at the unconscious Skipper. Cloud followed his gaze, and immediately walked over to the man. Surprisingly, the commanding officer of the sub was already blinking his eyes open, coming back into consciousness.

He glowered up at Cloud as the mercenary knelt over him. "You aren't going to get out of here alive!"

"I've heard that before," Cloud told him calmly, forcing him up onto his feet. "You're going to call the other sub for us. Ask it about the Huge Materia."

"I won't," the Skipper stubbornly shook his head. Cloud glanced at Vincent, and the former Turk immediately pointed his gun towards one of the technicians. He had no intention of actually firing, but the technician didn't know that, and he cowered in fear. The Skipper hesitated, but still didn't move.

Cloud glared at him. "Are you ShinRa really all the same, and is there really no decency in any of you? These are your men. You're supposed to protect them."

"Do you honestly think Rufus would return the loyalty you're trying to show him?" Vincent added coolly. "Do as we say, and these men won't be harmed."

The Skipper glowered hatefully at them, but nevertheless walked over to a large radio and, with his hands still bound in front of him, tuned it to the other sub. "_Gunnel. _This is _Sea Hunter_. Do you copy?"

A voice immediately responded. "This is the _Gunnel, Sea Hunter_. What's your situation?"

"Is the Huge Materia on board?" the Skipper demanded. There was no mistaking the anger in his voice as he glanced down at the cords binding his wrists.

"Affirmative," the answer came. "We're in the process of carrying it back up to the surface. President Rufus wants it gathered with the Materia from Nibelheim. They'll be taking it by air in the Gelnika to Rocket Town. We are running behind though, and we need you to move the _Sea Hunter_ out of our path."

The Skipper glanced at Cloud, who shook his head. He turned back in frustration towards the radio. "Negative. The _Gunnel _will just have to hold tight for a few more minutes." There was a strange edge to the Skipper's voice as he said that. Cloud tensed, and glared at him suspiciously. That suspicion rose as no pursuing response came from the _Gunnel_.

Vincent took a small step towards the Skipper. "You alerted them, didn't you...?"

The Skipper glanced back at him innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Suddenly, a technician sitting by one of the radars looked up in pure alarm. "They're preparing to fire a torpedo!"

"What?" Cloud whirled towards the technician. "Well fire a torpedo back! Intercept it!" Two technicians who sat near the weapons' control panel dove towards it and immediately set to work.

The Skipper spun towards them angrily. "Stop that at once!"

Cloud rounded back towards him. "This is how ShinRa deals with hostage situations? They kill even their own men to get at us?"

The Skipper studied Cloud for a moment, his eyes blazing with cruelty. "You're from Avalanche, aren't you? You should know the answer to that question. Or were you not there in Midgar when they had their seventh sector destroyed?"

Cloud stared at him in cold fury as Vincent looked back and forth between the two in silent surprise.

The mercenary turned towards the technicians sitting at the weapons' panel. "ShinRa would see you all dead because of us. You owe them nothing. Intercept that torpedo and save your own lives."

Obviously, that option proved more enticing to them than loyalty did. They set back to work despite their Skipper's pointed objections.

The man glared at Cloud hatefully. "The Huge Materia is our last chance to stop Meteor!"

"It's not," Cloud shook his head. "We're going to find a better way." He frowned critically at the ShinRa commander. "Don't you think you're responsible for enough of the planet's suffering? ShinRa can't right any of this by destroying even more of it. And that's what you'd be doing if you use the Huge Materia."

"We're prepared to fire," one technician informed Cloud and Vincent.

"The _Gunnel's_ torpedo has been launched," another technician said.

"Intercept it," Cloud commanded even as the Skipper ordered them not to. But the technicians obeyed the mercenary. They fired their torpedo, which caused the entire submarine to rock slightly. A moment later there was a loud underwater explosion as the two torpedoes collided.

"It worked..." the technician breathed a sigh of relief. But Vincent didn't give them any time to celebrate. He stepped slightly towards the weapons' panel.

"What other weapons does this sub have?" he demanded.

"Just a couple of missiles," the technician informed him, despite the Skipper's obvious disapproval.

"How much damage will that do to the _Gunnel_?" Vincent asked.

"None of them can destroy it," the man replied helpfully. "At best, we can take out their own weapons and sink it. The men aboard will be able to escape, but the Materia won't be going anywhere for awhile and they won't be able to fire at us again."

"Do it now," Cloud ordered. The technicians immediately set to it.

"What do you really hope to accomplish?" the Skipper demanded haughtily. "ShinRa will find a way to destroy Meteor with or without the Huge Materia from the _Gunnel_. We will be the heroes. And Avalanche will be remembered as terrorists for the whole of history."

"Yeah, well," Cloud shrugged that aside. "At the rate we're going, history's gonna end very soon."

"Missiles ready," the technician said.

"Do it," the mercenary commanded. The technician nodded, and a moment later several missiles launched towards the _Gunnel_. And the other sub was not able to intercept them.

Several explosions could be heard, even from inside their submarine, which once again rocked slightly through the water. The technician glanced up at Cloud.

"It succeeded," he exclaimed.

"Good," Cloud nodded. He glanced back towards Vincent. "The Huge Materia will be stuck down there for awhile?"

Vincent nodded. "In all likeliness." The men aboard the _Gunnel_ would not be able to escape their sunken submarine while carrying the Materia with them. They'd have to leave it first and then come back for it. And that would take awhile.

The radio suddenly turned on. "_Sea Hunter,_ this is the command base. What's the situation down there? Why has the _Gunnel_ been fired upon?"

"Watch what you say," Cloud warned the Skipper. The man narrowed his eyes hatefully at the mercenary.

"Command base," he said slowly with cold impassiveness. "This is the _Sea Hunter_. We're having some problems with hijackers down here."

"There were hijackers on the _Gunnel_?" Whoever was talking to them from the command base certainly wasn't the brightest man around.

The Skipper didn't take his eyes off of Cloud, and neither did the mercenary look away from him. "That's affirmative. Might I suggest President Rufus board the Gelnika and get the Materia to Rocket Town as quickly as possible. He's not going to get the Materia from down here any time soon."

"Affirmative," the man from the base acknowledged. "Okay, _Sea Hunter_. Get back up here immediately. We're going to need a full report of what happened down there."

Vincent had moved to the radio's side and instantly flipped it back off. He turned towards the helmsmen. "We're leaving Junon. Start heading north. Now."

The Skipper's eyes widened in shock even as his men nervously set out to obey. "Are you two _crazy_?"

"Nope," Cloud shook his head. "Just hoping to get outta here alive."

"It isn't going to happen!" the Skipper hissed at him hatefully. "You can't escape! You'll both be killed!"

Cloud frowned, for those words sounded eerily familiar to him. He turned away from the Skipper then, and glanced numbly at a periscope as he wondered where he had heard those words before.

Hojo had spoken them... to Zack... Five years ago when they had been in Nibelheim. When they had been escaping from the Shinra Mansion. Cloud hadn't appeared to be conscious at the time... But he had heard Hojo's threat. _"You can't escape. You or the boy! You'll both be killed!"_

And Zack had been... Cloud felt a wave of guilt flow through him, but he pushed it aside even as Vincent was turning towards him in concern.

The mercenary didn't give the former Turk even a glance as he walked back over to the Skipper. "You aren't going to be a help to us anymore." With that said, he moved with surprising speed and power to once again knock the Skipper unconscious.

OOOOOOO

The _Sea Hunter_ surfaced several miles north of Junon. While they had been making the short journey, Cloud and Vincent had tied their unconscious prisoners to various pieces of equipment around the sub, and once they had reached their destination, they bound the rest of the technicians and helmsmen up as well. Then they thanked their prisoners for their cooperation and made their retreat back towards the escape trunk.

Cloud was the first one to climb up back outside through the hatch. In the distance, he could see the airship flying in their general direction. Cloud grinned as he jumped onto the outer surface of the submarine and waited for Vincent to climb through the hatch as well and join him there. They didn't have much longer to wait before the Highwind flew directly above them and lowered its rope ladder. Cloud and Vincent climbed up and joined the rest of their friends on the airship's deck.

OOOOOOO

Now that the two groups were together again, and onboard the Highwind, they quickly related what had happened to each other. Tifa and her group had confirmed the canon's absence from Junon, but they had been unable to find out why it was gone or where it was headed.

But Cloud quickly interrupted and told them that the canon would have to wait. "Rufus is headed towards Rocket Town by plane."

"What the fuck?" Cid's face blanched and he stared at the mercenary in concern. "What does he want in Rocket Town?"

"He's taking the Huge Materia from Nibelheim there," Vincent said. "My guess is he's planning on using the rocket to send the Materia flying towards Meteor."

"We have to catch them," Tifa said in alarm. "We can't let them do that!"

"I wanna steal their Materia!" Yuffie exclaimed in agreement.

"We will," Cloud assured them quickly. He turned towards the captain. "Cid. Get us to Rocket Town now."


	53. Into Outer Space

**Chapter Fifty-Two: Into Outer Space**

As the Highwind approached Rocket Town, the eight companions stood by the rope ladder ready to disembark within a moment's notice. Generally, they would have had the airship drop them off a safe distance away from the ShinRa, but that was not an option this time. The rocket, they could see, had been repaired since they had last been there, and now it looked ready to launch for space. They had to stop it, and couldn't waste any time delaying.

The airship passed over the town. Down below, people were looking up at it in fascination. Some of those people were in fact ShinRa officers. In fact, the whole town seemed infested by the ShinRa.

The rope ladder was tossed over the side, and the eight friends hastened to climb down. Because it was important to touch ground swiftly, Red Thirteen jumped onto Barret's back, and the two slid down together.

Once they were all down, the fight began almost immediately. Avalanche had quickly become very famous among the ShinRa, and they all knew who the eight friends were and could guess what they wanted. And the guards were determined not to let the group by.

However, this town, along with its rocket, was Cid's every bit as much as the airship was. The captain saw the rocket standing ready for launch, and he could not fight the emotion welling up inside his heart. The rocket was standing straight and complete in all its glory. And Cid felt all those years of anger, hate, betrayal, and loss wash over him in one agonizing wave that he could not fight.

Without a word, he plowed through the ShinRa with his spear in hand, and raced towards the rocket. Eventually, he broke past the ShinRa entirely, and continued towards his destination at a dead sprint.

The rocket was _his_. ShinRa had kept him from space, and now they were planning on launching _his_ rocket to save the world! As Cid raced towards it, he closed his eyes. The injustice of it all was almost ironic. He hated irony. But he _wouldn't_ let ShinRa get away with it! And if he did, he wouldn't let ShinRa get away with it without _him _taking some part in all of it.

Meanwhile, Cloud was standing in the middle of the fray, having just brought down one of the ShinRa guards who had attacked him. Now, he was staring after Cid in concern. He knew the captain was probably _not_ in one of his better moods.

The mercenary glanced back over his shoulder towards the chaos sweeping the town. The number of ShinRa guards in Rocket Town was insane. Cloud immediately made out Cait Sithe encouraging some of the locals to take part in the fight for Cid's sake. And a bunch of them were actually _agreeing_!

Tifa was like a whirlwind as she fought. She was in no immediate danger, but Cloud could also make out Vincent firing at several of the guards who were attacking them with weaponry from a distance. It looked like the former Turk was keeping an eye out on the girl.

Barret and Red Thirteen were all over the place as well. Red Thirteen fought with much more grace than Barret, but that was only to be expected. And Yuffie was not too far away either, looking like she was having the time of her life.

Satisfied that his friends would be able to handle the ShinRa here, Cloud turned and took off after Cid. He was able to catch up with the man quickly, but couldn't stop him as he started up the ladder towards the top of the rocket.

"Cid!" Cloud sheathed his sword and started up the ladder after him. But the captain ignored his call, and the mercenary felt himself growing increasingly apprehensive.

Cid reached the rocket's main entry point and started walking purposefully towards the cockpit. Cloud pulled himself in after the man and followed.

"Do you have any idea where they might have stored the Huge Materia?" he asked as Cid slid into a small chamber and pushed his way into the pilot's chair. He started pressing a series of buttons and wouldn't even glance at Cloud.

"Nope," was all he said. Cloud sighed in growing frustration and crossed his arms, waiting impatiently as Cid set about doing whatever it was that he was doing.

"What are you working on?" Cloud asked after several more minutes past. "Cid, do we have time for this?"

"Shut up," Cid said coldly. He was _not_ in the mood for talking. For _any_ kind of talking. ShinRa was planning on using _his_ rocket! And though Cid wanted to save the world as much as everybody else did, there was something more to all of this that was incredibly personal to him. He had scores to settle and dreams to live. And if Meteor couldn't be stopped, then he didn't have a lot of time to do what he wanted to do with his life, and he certainly wouldn't waste that time talking to Cloud. It was selfish, he knew. He should be focusing on saving the planet. But he wasn't...

A screen suddenly came to life on the panel. Cloud moved closer next to Cid to see it, and they both watched as the image of a man took shape.

"Who's in there?" the man demanded through an intercom.

Cid recognized the man as one of the rocket's original crew members. "It's just your fucking captain. Wanna tell me what the hell's going on?"

The man's face blanched as he recognized Cid. "Captain! You returned!"

"Yeah, I did," Cid snarled somewhat impatiently. "Now why are you guys helping ShinRa launch this rocket? _Without_ me?"

"Without you?" Cloud glanced at Cid in sudden alarm. What was going on? Cid knew they couldn't launch the rocket. Why was he suddenly speaking as though he planned on helping ShinRa?

"We're sorry, sir!" the man assured the captain. "We didn't know where you were! And the thought of our rocket being the one that would save the planet... We couldn't say no, sir!"

Cid considered that for a moment, then decided to let it go. "How's the launch preparations? How much longer till liftoff?"

Cloud watched Cid nervously, forcing himself to give the captain the benefit of the doubt. Maybe Cid's actions weren't as they seemed... But then... Maybe Cloud was hoping for a miracle.

The man on the screen looked uncomfortable. "Honestly, sir, I couldn't say. We planned on using the auto-pilot to get the rocket into space and on course... We didn't want anyone to be inside when the rocket crashed into Meteor... but the mechanism's down, and we're waiting for Shera to fix it."

"Shera!" Cid actually laughed. "Well that's great! It's going to take her a hundred years to get it working again! Tell her to forget about it! I'll take the rocket and we can launch now. Don't even have to worry about auto-pilot."

"Cid!" Cloud stared at him in shock.

The man on the screen hesitated. "Are you sure, sir?"

Cid glared at him. "Who's fucking rocket is this, anyway? If I wanna launch it, I'm gonna launch it! Is the Materia aboard?"

The man nodded. "Yes sir!" He made to leave, but then paused and looked back nervously. "Good luck sir!" The screen then went blank.

Cid made to buckle himself in as Cloud stared at him in complete horror.

"You're really serious about this, aren't you?" he asked softly. "I thought we agreed we weren't going to allow ShinRa to go through with this!"

"Cloud," Cid turned towards him in exasperation. "Who are we really kidding here? Meteor is coming, and there's no other way to stop it! I understand that Materia is precious and shouldn't be wasted like this. But think of it this way. ShinRa would have used four blocks of Huge Materia. Now they can only use one. The planet might not like the sacrifice, but maybe the planet doesn't know what's good for it. Sometimes you gotta sacrifice a piece to save the rest. And I gotta do this. If I don't, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. Which wouldn't be that much longer, anyway."

"Cid," Cloud forced himself to stay composed. "This isn't how Meteor is going to be stopped. The planet knows it. That's _why_ it doesn't want the sacrifice being made. This isn't going to work."

"I've had faith in science my entire life, kid," Cid retorted. "I'm not losing faith in it now. Couple hundred years ago, you tell a man they'd be flying around in the sky, that man would think you're fucking crazy. But through science, we've got airships, planes, and rockets. You understand?"

"I understand that what you want is to get into space!" Cloud shot back, rather harshly. "You can't hide that from me, Cid! I don't think you care one way or the other right now if Meteor can be stopped or not! You have an excuse to get yourself up into space and you're taking it whether it's good for the rest of the planet or not!"

Cid unbuckled his seatbelt and turned furiously towards Cloud. "You think I'm so damn easy to read?"

Cloud crossed his arms. "Are you? Was I right? Or are you lying to yourself too?"

Cid stared at him angrily, but found he couldn't deny it. Cloud was right. The only thing that mattered to him was getting into space. Even if it was the last thing he ever did, it was the only thing he wanted. "I'll not drag you along with me. You better get back outside before I launch this thing."

"I'm not leaving until I have the Huge Materia," Cloud replied harshly. "And then, if you still wanna go ramming into Meteor, you can be my guest."

Before Cid could reply, the rocket's main entry point suddenly slammed shut. Both men turned towards it in surprise, but before they could do anything about it, the rocket suddenly trembled, coming alive.

"What's going on?" Cloud asked.

Cid didn't answer the mercenary, but turned back towards the screen on the control panel. He pressed another button, activating the intercom. "This is Cid Highwind aboard the Shinra Number Twenty Six. What the _hell_ is going on?"

The screen suddenly turned on again, and Palmer's face appeared. "Cid? That you in there?"

"_Palmer_!" Cid glared at him in distaste. "What did you do?"

"I launched the rocket on auto-pilot," Palmer stared up at them sheepishly. "I didn't know anyone was onboard."

"I heard the auto-pilot was broken!" Cid was close to shouting.

Palmer shrugged. "Shera fixed it."

Cloud glanced at Cid accusingly. "Thought you said it would take her a hundred years to do that!"

Cid shrugged, looking more than a little intrigued. "So the girl picked today of all days to learn to work fast. That really _is_ ironic."

"Cid!" Cloud stared at him in exasperation. The captain turned towards him and grabbed him roughly by the arm.

"Cloud, sit down and buckle up," he ordered even as he did the same to himself. Cloud obeyed, for there was little else he could do at that moment. Cid turned angrily towards the screen image of Palmer and savagely turned it off. He glanced at the mercenary. "Hang on."

Cloud nodded. There was more than just a little irritation expressed in his eyes.

OOOOOOO

The fight died down a little on the ground as the people in Rocket Town all turned towards the rocket in stunned surprise. There was a brilliant flash of golden, scarlet light as fire exploded underneath the vessel. A moment later, the rocket was flying at an impossible speed into the sky.

Tifa watched it go in panic. "Cloud!"

"Was he onboard?" Yuffie asked in horror.

"Wit' Cid," Barret nodded.

"And the Huge Materia," Red Thirteen added. The four of them, Cait Sithe, and Vincent all turned to watch the rocket, as did all the ShinRa and all the locals. It disappeared into the sky.

OOOOOOO

"So this is it, then?" Cloud demanded as Cid pressed several more buttons on the panel, bringing gravity into the rocket. "We're gonna die, now?"

"Forget that," Cid shook his head as he unbuckled his seat belt and got to his feet. An angry Cloud followed his lead. Cid took a moment to light a cigarette. He didn't care if he left smoke throughout the cockpit. That wouldn't be his problem for much longer. "Palmer's locked it in auto-pilot. So I can't change the rocket's course. But even still, we got _plenty_ of time before we're even _close_ to Meteor."

Cloud frowned. "So what are we gonna do now?"

Cid spared him a glance and sighed. "You were right, kid. I guess I am easy to read. If I die, then I'd want it to be in space and nowhere else. But I didn't want you to get dragged into this. So I'm gonna see you back down to the ground."

"How?" Cloud asked. "You said you couldn't change course."

"Can't," Cid shrugged and started out of the cockpit. Cloud followed closely on his heels. "But I'm not completely stupid or anything. There've always been escape pods in the rocket for emergencies. We're gonna head back down to the planet. Auto-pilot can take care of the rest." He inhaled some smoke, looking increasingly depressed.

This was not his dream, he was coming to realize. For though he was now, in fact, headed towards space, he realized this wasn't how he wanted it. He had dreamt of so much more. Success. Honor. Glory. The whole works. Now, to become the first man in space, he had proven so desperate that he had hitched a ride towards a fucking Meteor that would kill him, in the process taking a piece of the planet and one of his closest friends with him. This wasn't a dream come true. It was a dream turned into a nightmare.

If he allowed it to turn out this way, then he would truly have been defeated by the ShinRa. What a pathetic failure he was making right now. And what was worse, according to Cloud, even if they did crash into Meteor with the Huge Materia, the mission would still be a failure. This was how the world was going to remember him before it was destroyed.

_Look at me now... I'm so pathetic!_ He shook his head furiously, and glowered at Cloud. "You're right. My dreams are more important to me than the planet at this point. I'm not exactly proud of that. But I'm getting it now. What I'm doing now... It's fraudulent. It's not me living my dreams at all. I was wrong. Guess the only thing I can do now if I want to live my dreams is to see to it that the planet lives past this, and try again in a year or two. Under better conditions."

Cloud stared at the captain impassively. Part of him wanted to point out that this would never happen if they didn't get off the rocket. But instead, he forced himself to wait. Cid was coming around, and would come around. "We need to take the Huge Materia with us."

Cid nodded. "Think I know where it is." He turned towards another ladder that was behind him He started up it. There was a hatch that he pushed open, and a moment later he had disappeared into the chamber above it.

Cloud hesitated, staring up after him. But before he could follow, Cid was at the ladder again, holding a large block of green Materia. He dropped it down into Cloud's awaiting arms, and then climbed back down. The Materia itself was heavy, Cloud thought, but he held it easily. "Where are the escape pods?"

"This way," Cid walked over to another ladder and started climbing down. Cloud waited until the captain had reached the bottom before he dropped the Huge Materia down to him. A moment later, he had descended into the chamber as well.

They made their way past several oxygen tanks, silently walking with Cid in the lead. And as they went, Cloud couldn't help but relate to the old captain. Cid felt like he had either lost everything or failed at everything. He had lost his airship, his plane, and his rocket... and he had failed to meet his dreams. Cloud had lost his home... his family... had failed to join SOLDIER all those years ago... had failed to protect Aeris... and had pretty much _caused_ this apocalypse himself. Hadn't he been the one to give Sephiroth the Black Materia, after all? And not just once, but _twice_?

Cid was an older man just trying to correct his mistakes and prove to the world that he was _not_ the failure that he thought himself to be. Cloud could tell where he was coming from. Cid was trying _so hard_... to make up for his past. Cloud felt guilty about being so antagonizing to him, and thought to himself that Cid was going to do it. He would find a way to make amends, if that was what he felt he needed to do. And Cloud... he just hoped that someday he'd be able to do the same.

Suddenly one of the oxygen tanks erupted. Someone screamed as Cloud was thrown backwards while Cid, who had been carrying the heavy Huge Materia and was therefore much harder for mere force to brush aside, was simply thrown to the ground. Debris went flying in every direction as pieces of the tank violently blew apart. Over half of that tank landed heavily on top of the captain.

Cloud winced as he slowly sat back up after the rubble died down. Who had screamed? "Cid?"

"Damn," the captain was cursing from where he lay. He glanced over at the mercenary. "I'm stuck!"

"Did you scream?" Cloud asked as he crawled over to his companion and started pulling debris from the pile that half buried the captain.

"No," Cid shook his head impatiently. "Why?"

"I think there's someone else in here," Cloud explained as he came to a rather large piece of rubble. It looked like half the tank right there! He frowned, and pushed his hands underneath it, trying to pull it up. He managed to lift it a few inches, and, grimacing from the effort, looked at Cid. "Crawl out!"

Cid attempted to, but it was soon clear that he wasn't going to be moving without assistance. Cloud lowered the tank back down, and stared in alarm at the captain. "I don't think I can get you out by myself."

"No?" A look of dry amusement crossed over the man's face. "That figures..." The moment he decided not to give up, and not to give in to ShinRa, he gets stuck up here in this fraudulent dream of his. He glanced dejectedly up at Cloud. "Guess that's just my lot in life. The escape pods aren't that far from here. Get to them while you still can. I'll be fine."

"What am I gonna tell the others?" Cloud asked impatiently. "That I just left you up here? You gotta be kidding me! I'm not doing that."

"Screw you," Cid shot back, but when he glanced up at the mercenary, Cloud saw appreciation in his foggy eyes. "No, but really. You can't be thinking about anyone other than yourself right now. Otherwise, you won't be able to save the planet."

"I'm not accepting that," Cloud replied quickly. He started looking around the chamber they were in. "Just gotta find something to boost this thing up with. Then I can pull you out."

"I can't believe it," Cid whispered as the mercenary scavenged around. "The tank really was malfunctioning... Shera was right all along."

As Cloud searched for something that wasn't to be found, he saw something move from behind one of the tanks. He remembered how someone had screamed when the one tank had erupted. There really was someone else in the room with them! Cloud turned towards it. "Who's there! Come out!"

He didn't have to repeat himself. A moment later, a woman was making her way towards him. Cloud instantly recognized her, and his mouth literally fell open in surprise. "Shera?"

"What the _hell_ did you just say?" Cid demanded, twisting around under the debris to see the woman who had shown herself to them. "Shera! What the _hell _are you doing here?"

She glanced sheepishly between the two men. "I'm sorry. I just..." She turned towards Cid. "I heard your voice on the intercom earlier. And I knew I had to come with you! I just felt that I should. So I stowed away..." Her face turned pink, and she glanced down as if in shame.

Cloud frowned. "Why were you hiding?"

Her face flushed even more. "Because the captain always gets so angry with me..." She wouldn't look at Cid anymore. The man was literally shaking and his face had turned red. And it wasn't because of any physical pain he might have been in, either.

"Damn it woman! Do you not even _care_ about your own life or something?" If he hadn't been screaming before, he was screaming now.

"It's not that..." she looked over towards him miserably. "I just... I didn't realize _he_ was with you." She glanced at Cloud for a quick second before she turned back towards Cid. "I didn't want you facing this alone."

"There's no time for that," Cloud cut in, reaching to grab Shera's arm and pulling her back towards the tank Cid was trapped under. "I'm going to lift it off him. You have to pull him out, okay?"

"Yeah..." Shera nodded, her face paling slightly as she realized just how much rubble was currently crushing her captain.

Cloud spared her one final glance before he braced himself and used every ounce of strength he had to lift up the incredibly heavy piece of rubble. As soon as it was off the ground, Shera grabbed Cid underneath his arms and dragged him out from underneath it all. The man swore angrily as she did this. But before long, he was out of harm's way, and Cloud let go of the tank. It fell heavily back down onto the ground.

As Cloud moved to support Cid, who once again picked up the Huge Materia, both men looked at Shera.

"Get the escape pod ready," Cid told her. "We'll be right behind you."

Shera nodded and spun on her heel, racing towards the other end of the chamber. Cloud and Cid followed as quickly as they could, but it still took them a bit of time to make it there after her.

The escape pod was a large circular craft with a small, thick window in its door. Shera was already inside of it, and by the time Cloud and Cid had crawled in as well, it was ready to blast away from the rocket. Cid dropped the Materia on the floor as Cloud helped him get into a chair and get belted in. A moment later, he did the same to himself in another chair. Shera was already strapped in.

As soon as they were ready, Shera had the escape pod launch powerfully away from the rocket. In a matter of seconds, they were careening through space, heading back towards the planet.

Cid gazed out the window. Cloud and Shera followed that gaze and found themselves staring out at the black vacuum that was in fact outer space. And Cid couldn't turn his eyes from it. He was both quiet and withdrawn in a way that neither Cloud nor Shera had ever seen him before.

"So this is outer space," he whispered after awhile. His face twisted into an expression of both pain and joy. "Man... it's the real thing... I'm really here... in outer space..." He stared out towards the rocket that was still flying towards Meteor. But now... there was not a hope in the world that it would destroy the giant monstrosity that was heading towards the planet... They would have to find another way. "So long... Shinra Number Twenty Six."

Neither Cloud nor Shera said anything. They silently allowed Cid a moment for himself. All the while they continued falling back towards the planet. Back towards the planet that was still in ever increasing danger.


	54. A Cave Behind the Waterfall

**Chapter Fifty-Three: A Cave Behind the Waterfall**

It was dark out by the time Tifa and the others had managed to retreat from Rocket Town and board the Highwind once more. From there they were able to watch as the escape pod fell from the sky like a falling star. Cid's crew then proved able to pinpoint where it had landed, and the airship flew out to pick them up. Shera was returned home, and Cloud and Cid were reunited with their friends.

They all gathered together on the deck as the airship drifted aimlessly over land and sea. They sat together in silent communion, as the weight of everything that was happening grew increasingly burdensome on their shoulders.

They had stopped ShinRa from sending the Huge Materia into Meteor. And none of them knew for certain if they had spared the planet from a terrible injury, or if they had just condemned it to death. ShinRa's plan, if nothing else, had at least been a _plan_... None of them knew what to do anymore. It was beginning to feel increasingly hopeless.

"Maybe..." Yuffie hesitated, looking reluctant to break the silence. But as soon as the word had passed through her lips, all of her friends were looking at her curiously. So she shrugged and continued with her thought, all the while looking down so that she might not have to meet any of their gazes. "Maybe we were wrong about the Materia... What if there's no other way to stop Meteor?"

"It's too late to doubt that now," Red Thirteen said gently. "We just have to hope that what we did today was for the best. And hope that we can find another way to stop it."

"But how can we be sure?" Yuffie asked. "I'm..." She glanced up at the sky. It was difficult focusing on the stars or the moon when Meteor was so frighteningly close and so imposing in the sky. "I'm scared..."

"We're all scared," Barret told her sourly. "Nothing surprising there." Cloud glanced at the larger black man, and noticed that Barret seemed to be struggling to keep from shaking. It was the same for most of them. In fact, they were all trembling, whether from the cold night air or their increasing sense of hopelessness. In fact, the only one there who did not look in any way concerned at all was Vincent. He was standing slightly apart from the rest, staring out into the darkness at the airship's rail. He seemed to be ignoring everything else around him.

"Maybe there is no way," Cait Sithe said softly. "Maybe you just can't fight something like this." The others glanced at him in concern, and he shrugged. "I mean, let's face it. The Ancients couldn't stop it two thousand years ago. And that was when their race was at its prime. There aren't any Ancients anymore, and an even worse Meteor is coming. Maybe we just need to face the facts."

"Don't think like that," Cloud suggested thoughtfully. "It's not helping."

"I can't help but think like that," Cait Sithe replied. "I can't help but worry."

"We don't have time to be worrying," Tifa cut in. She looked up at Meteor and tensed at the sight of it. Shaking her head slightly, she returned her gaze to Cait Sithe. "We have to think. Don't stop thinking. We have to come up with a way. _Any_ way."

"The girl's right," Cid broke in suddenly. The others glanced at him in surprise, for he had been silent since leaving the escape pod. It was good hearing him speak again, as he lit another cigarette. "Can't keep worrying. If ya do, it'll just keep getting worse." He exhaled some smoke and glanced at each of his friends in turn.

"I've been thinking," he told them after another moment. "All my life, I've always thought this planet was so friggin' big. I mean, you got the universe... the land... the ocean. And we've seen a hell of a lot of it, too. But in the end, no matter what we do... we can't change anything. In the long run, nothing we do will ever matter, 'cause we're all just a handful of people in a world that's so big, we can't even make up a _fraction_ of it."

Tifa nodded. "I've felt that way before." She glanced almost guiltily at Barret. "When we were still in Midgar... Before anyone really knew Avalanche's name... I didn't think one small group like ours could change anything. We could have started something, maybe... but in the end, what impact could we possibly have made on the world? It's just so big. And we're not." She looked down and shook her head. "But I was wrong. Look at the huge difference we've made. For better of for worse, our actions have had incredible consequences that I never would have thought possible."

Vincent, from where he stood apart from the group, heard her words and bowed his head, closing his eyes. The actions of a few could harm so many... He had learned that through experience. And now Tifa had, too.

"Yeah," Cid nodded. "When I was in space, I realized something. The planet's not big. Not big at all. It's actually incredibly tiny. And all by its self. We're just a bunch of people living on a small planet that's kinda just floating around in the darkness. As if it's lost its way.

"You see, the planet may be over two thousand years old," the captain continued. "But... it's still just a little kid. A lost kid, floating by itself in the middle of this huge universe. And what's worse... it's got Sephiroth festering inside it like a sickness. The planet's a little lost kid, sick and trembling, and someone has got to protect it. Ya follow me?" He glanced pointedly at his friends. "That someone is us."

"Cid..." Tifa stared at him in amazement. The others were awestruck as well. They never would have expected such inspiration inside the captain. His words alone gave them back their motivation and their hope. They would find a way to protect the planet... They just _had_ to!

Vincent continued to stare out into the darkness. The planet needed saving. It seemed to know that already itself. For the former Turk could hear it crying. Crying like a hurt and frightened child, as Cid had said it was.

"Do you hear that?" Tifa whispered, looking at Cloud. The mercenary nodded as Red Thirteen lifted his head up from his paws and stared into the sky. The others, Barret, Yuffie, Cid, and Cait Sithe, all frowned in bafflement.

"What are ya talking about?" Barret demanded.

"The planet's crying," Cloud explained softly as he listened to the now fading wails. "It sounds like it's in so much pain."

"How come you can hear it and we can't?" Yuffie demanded, looking between Cloud and Tifa unhappily.

"Because we were in the Lifestream...?" Tifa wasn't sure, and Cloud was merely shrugging, so it was obvious that he didn't know either.

"A crying planet..." Cait Sithe was frowning. "I've heard of such a thing before... Where was it that we heard about it crying?"

"Cosmo Canyon," Red Thirteen answered immediately. The others glanced in his direction, and most of them, but not Cid nor Vincent, for they were not there, remembered the home of their friend. The home of Nanaki. He stared between all of them. "My grandfather spoke of a crying planet."

"Your grandfather..." Cloud stared at Red Thirteen, thinking of Bugenhagen. A small smile formed on his lips. "He knew so much about the planet. Perhaps he knows of a way to save it from Meteor."

That caught both Cid and Vincent's attention. They both turned towards Red Thirteen curiously, wondering who his grandfather was that he might know how to ward off disaster.

Tifa was immediately optimistic. She grinned. "And if not, at least he'll have a fresh perspective! I'm sure he'll be able to think of something we all missed!"

Excitement coursed through Red Thirteen's veins. He was immediately on his feet. "Are you saying we can go back to Cosmo Canyon? We can go back to my home?"

Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Cait Sithe, and Yuffie all nodded enthusiastically. They all remembered Bugenhagen and how he seemed to know so much. If anyone could think of some way to save the planet, somehow, they _knew _it would have to be the adopted grandfather of Nanaki.

"Okay, then," Cid nodded agreeably. He glanced at Red Thirteen. "Tomorrow we'll head out to Cosmo Canyon or whatever. And we'll see what we can find out."

"And until then," Cloud cut in. "I think we need to get some sleep. We're all very tired." On that point, no one argued.

OOOOOOO

_It was the most beautiful morning he had ever seen. The verdant forest was fresh and emerald, and the sky was as cerulean as the small, blue pond that would eventually break away into several streams leading throughout the woods. It was a pleasant pool, situated at the bottom of a high cliff where there was a waterfall cascading down upon it. The music it created was both wild and serene, captivating and free. No instrument could play it or match it in its perfection. This place, he often thought when he went there, was a reflection of Heaven._

_But not nearly so much as when she was there._

_Lucrecia..._

_She was at the water's edge, wearing a towel around her body as she leaned over the water and washed a long, graceful leg. Her long black hair, both wet and free from any bands, cascaded over her shoulder as if it were a waterfall itself. She sensed his presence then and looked up to see him. A smile formed on her lips. Her dazzlingly bright eyes were sparkling._

_There was a flash of light..._

_And then the two of them were standing in the mouth of a cave. It would have been dark... But the light of the sun reflected through the water of the falls that hid the cave from view. The effect was incredible... As if the waterfall was part of a prism, and with the sun shining through, the walls of the cavern were alight with color. It only happened at a certain hour of the day, when the sun was in precisely the right position, but that only made it seem more magical._

_Lucrecia looked up at him with a small, almost timid, smile. She reached to take his hands in hers, and her touch felt both warm and vibrant. She was so beautiful..._

_There was another flash of light..._

_They were dancing together in a ballroom. And though Lucrecia, resplendent in her blue gown, seemed to be perfectly happy, he couldn't stop glancing towards the man who hosted that evening's ball. Lucrecia's father... Every time he glanced at the man, he could see the distaste and disgust he felt towards his daughter's choice in partners._

_The flash of light..._

_They were standing together in a room of the Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim. But he couldn't meet her gaze. He was so ashamed. "Do you want me to apologize?"_

_"It's not that easy," she told him sorrowfully. They were together in that room, but separated by both distance and circumstance. He had left their childhood home to become a Turk, so that he might prove worthy of her in her father's eyes. But her father had sent her to school, to become a scientist, while he had been away. There she had married another man, and was pregnant with his child. And now fate had brought them back together, as if just to be cruel._

_Flash..._

_"Oh, no..." he could hear her crying as she spoke those words. "Hojo, how much did you hear?"_

_Flash..._

_"Please Professor!" Infalna was crying. "We have to leave this place! We have to get as far as possible from the monster!"_

_"Infalna, calm down," Gast tried soothing her, taking her shoulders gently in his hands. "I don't understand what you're trying to say."_

_"What's going on?" he asked as he turned a corner of the mansion and saw the professor with the Ancient in his hands. Both Infalna and Gast glanced at him, but neither replied. Instead they looked back at each other, one in tears, the other simply confused._

_"What you call Jenova," Infalna said harshly. "Is nothing more than a monster. It is not a Cetra! It's evil..."_

_Flash..._

_"How could you not have told us? How could you not have told us that Jenova was not an Ancient? That it is a monster?"_

_"It's been tearing me inside!"_

_"Tearing _you_ inside?"_

_Flash..._

_A gun fired... When he looked down, he could see his blood all around him. His face twisted in pain, and he looked up at the man who had fired the gun in the first place... Hojo... And suddenly he couldn't see anything... Darkness swept over him._

_Flash..._

_"Do what you want," he told the scientist in misery. "My life is over now."_

_"Oh, no," Hojo shook his head. "You are wrong about that, Vincent. Your life is just beginning." He smiled as he held up a syringe._

_He stared at it in alarm. "Hojo...? What are you doing?"_

_"I failed as a scientist," Hojo told his prisoner with a twisted smile on his face. "And I failed as a husband and as a father. But there is one option left open to me..." When his prisoner did not respond, Hojo continued. "I can always play the part of the mad scientist. And you... You, Vincent, shall become the terrible monster that I shall create."_

_Flash..._

_"Lucrecia..." he whispered her name as he felt his body changing for the first time. Twisting. Deforming. Becoming a hideous beast._

_Hojo stood watching with a hateful leer. "Do you think she could love you now? You should see what you look like! She wouldn't love you. She wouldn't even _recognize_ you! Were she to look upon your face, she would scream for fear of you!"_

_Flash..._

_He lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He was in a box. A small, tight box that he would not be able to move in, if he were even capable of moving at all. For Hojo had given him some kind of sedative. He could not move a single finger. He could not speak. He couldn't even blink. He was surprised that his eyes could stay open at all. _

_But for all that he could not move, his heart was beating faster than ever before. He did not know what was going on. And he was afraid..._

_Hojo was suddenly standing next to the box he had been placed in. The scientist stared down at his prisoner as hatefully as he always did. "This is it, Vincent."_

_He gazed up at Hojo uncertainly, but he could not speak at all. He wasn't sure that he would have been able to even if he hadn't been so sedated._

_Hojo smiled cruelly. "This is where your Hell begins. May you rest for all eternity, here in your own coffin, trapped by nightmares the horrors of which you have yet to imagine."_

_And he had been helpless to do anything as Hojo managed to slide the coffin's lid halfway on top of the coffin. He could still hear the sound... the wood sliding over wood... It haunted his memories..._

_Hojo had frowned then. There had never been more hate in any other man's eyes than there was now in the scientist's. "May you _never_ rest in peace." He slid the coffin's lid entirely in place, and Vincent was cloaked in darkness._

OOOOOOO

Vincent's eyes snapped open.

Wearily, he sat up and looked around him. He was in a small room where men bunked when traveling on the Highwind. Right now, the room was empty and dark, and Vincent was alone. He took a deep breath and rose to his feet.

He was often plagued by nightmares. It was an experience he was all too familiar with and had grown used to. They did not bother him as they once had. But now, something else did. Something Yuffie had said.

_"Isn't there anything in your life that _you_ wanna work through before our time runs out?"_

Maybe there was. And maybe there was something that he _could_ do... to put his mind at rest the way Hojo had said he never should. Vincent sighed, and turned to leave the room.

OOOOOOO

"So," Cid demanded as he stood by the airship's helm the next morning, glaring down at Red Thirteen, who had just entered the room with him. "Where the fuck's Cosmo Canyon?"

Red Thirteen looked up at him eagerly, but before he could reply, Vincent quietly entered the room, but with an air about him that quickly caught their attention. Both the captain and the giant cat looked up at the former Turk in curiosity.

"What is it?" Red Thirteen asked.

Vincent glanced at each of them in turn. "I know that we are meant to be heading towards Cosmo Canyon. And I am all too aware that time is short. However, I would ask for just an hour... There is a place I should very much like to see again."

"So," Cid crossed his arms haughtily. "The great and mighty Vincent Valentine isn't all powerful and detached from the world as he'd like us to believe, is that it? There's something he needs to get done before the world ends, too?"

Vincent frowned unappreciatively, but Cid wasn't intimidated. He just stared at the other man as if in challenge. For a moment, no one spoke.

But then Red Thirteen cut in. He could sense that wherever Vincent wanted to go, and whatever it was that he wanted to do, it was important to him. And Red Thirteen understood what that was like. He wasn't going to allow Cid to ruin this for the former Turk. The giant cat took a step towards Vincent. "Where is it that you want to go?"

OOOOOOO

The eight friends gathered in a field at the edge of both a forest and a town. The town, for all its presence, seemed surprisingly distant, as if it were a part of another world altogether. It was the forest, instead, that stood out. The very trees that were the focal point.

The friends stood before it, silently. None but Vincent knew what they were doing there, and he didn't seem particularly willing to explain. He was gazing into the trees, as if in pain, both eager to enter and reluctant. The others didn't press him, or try to rush him. They could sense - and at this point even Cid could sense it - that this whole situation was somehow of extreme significance. They just weren't sure what it meant.

Vincent closed his eyes, bowing his head. So many years had past... He had been Yuffie's age the last time he had stood before these trees. It was another time... another world. Everything had changed...

He had noticed it right away upon walking to this point. The forest was not fresh with life anymore. The verdant luster of the leaves had faded, and the clear fresh air was no longer sweet. This was not the same place as it had been. It was just a phantom left over. That was enough to break Vincent's heart.

He sighed and turned towards his friends. "Will you wait for me here? I won't take long."

Cloud nodded patiently. "We won't go anywhere." Vincent inclined his head gratefully, before turning to walk into the forest.

He didn't know how long he traveled. He didn't pay particular attention to where he was going, either. Though more than twenty years had passed, his feet still remembered the way. He felt like he was walking in a dream. He didn't need to think about where he was going. He just knew that he was. Like he was walking on auto-pilot.

Déjà vu swept over him. He had done this so many times when he had been a teenager. But he was a different person now. He was walking through a world that he had lost... that he no longer belonged to. And he knew that. The forest itself knew that, and did not welcome him as it once had.

Eventually he came to the pool. He came to the waterfall. And both looked gray instead of blue and silver. The music created by the falls was all that was left unchanged. And even that brought pain to him instead of joy. He knelt down by the water's edge and closed his eyes, silently pretending to himself that time could be turned back, and that he was a boy again. But his mind refused to believe it.

Someone was approaching from behind. At first, Vincent ignored the coming presence, wishing that it would just go away. This place was sacred to him. He didn't want to consider that over the years, someone else had found it. That would seem almost like desecration in his eyes.

The intruder was behind him now. Probably staring at him in surprise, unsure of what to make of him. Vincent could ignore that presence no longer. He sighed, and gracefully rose to his feet. Turning around, he found himself gazing into the face of a woman. A woman he recognized! No... an _angel_ he recognized.

His heart violently rose into his throat, and he almost stepped backwards into the water, so great was his shock. And the only thought that passed through his mind was that he had to be dreaming.

Lucrecia was standing before him, her face so pale she might well have been a ghost. Her black hair hung loosely over her shoulders, and all that she was wearing was a plain white summer's dress. In her long, smooth arms, she was carrying a woven basket that held pieces of bread. She looked, for all the world, as beautiful and as young as she had the last time he had seen her. It was as if age had not claimed her at all. As if age had forgotten her, as it had forgotten him.

They must have stood there, staring at each other for all eternity. That was what it felt like. Neither of them could move, nor speak. For they were both staring at the face of a ghost, one who had only ever appeared to them anymore in their dreams. Now, it was like they were in a waking dream. One where they were only allowed to see each other now, as the world was nearing its end.

Finally Vincent could not stand the distance that remained between them. Whispering her name, he made to go to her. She saw this, however, and her eyes widened slightly in alarm. She dropped the basket of bread and scrambled backwards in fear.

"Stay back!"

Vincent stopped short. His face melted into an expression of extreme sorrow as his arms fell heavily to his side. They had never felt more empty in his life, for they could not hold the one person they wanted to more than anything else. "Lucrecia... You're... you're alive?"

Tears suddenly filled in her beautiful eyes. Her fear disappeared into pain and she looked down, unable to meet his gaze.

"Hojo made me believe you were dead," Vincent whispered, looking down as well. "My heart broke."

"I wanted to."

Vincent glanced up at her, past his own tears. She was trembling now, and all he wanted to do was to run to her and hold her close, never to part with her again. She was as old as he, but she only looked nineteen. He wanted to protect her. To take away her sorrow.

"I wanted to disappear," she looked up at him again, her face twisted in regret and anguish. "I couldn't be with anyone... You... Hojo... not even my child..." She looked down and her hair fell into her face.

This is a dream, Vincent thought. Or had Lucrecia been living alone in this forest all these years? If he had only come here sooner, would he have found her?

This can't be a dream, he changed his mind. All of it was so ironic... and so cruel... it had to be real. For that was what reality was to him.

"I wanted to die," Lucrecia said. "But the Jenova inside me wouldn't let me die."

The Jenova inside her... A monster... But Vincent couldn't see it. All he could see was the beauty of her angelic face. He started towards her again.

And again, she looked up in fear. "Stay back! I don't want anyone to... I'm a monster now, Vincent!"

He stared at her for a moment, wondering at her words. Had she lived all these years believing that? Here was the irony. He held out his hand towards her, and when she looked down at it, he had it change for her to see. She caught her breath as she gazed at it in surprise. And this time, when he walked towards her, she didn't move away. She looked up at him in agony, and he reached to take her hands in his.

"So am I," he whispered. Not letting go of her hands, he began walking backwards, leading her towards the waterfall. They had done this before, and it seemed like an eternity had gone by since that day. They were two different people now, trying to mimic the lives of two children who had died long ago. And it was in this way that Vincent led her underneath the waterfall, and into the cave behind it.

"This body," he told her softly. "Is the punishment that's been given to me. I was... unable... unable to stop... what happened. That was all I wanted to do... but all I was able... to do was watch... And this is my punishment."

The music of the waterfall echoed around them, and spray from the water touched their faces. They were both wet now, and Vincent could not tell if the drops on her face were from the waterfall, or from her tears.

"I never thought I'd see you again," she whispered. "I wanted to forget... But I can't ever stop dreaming... I am the mother of a child that I love dearly... and would give my life for... But you can't call me his mother. I never even got to hold him... Not once... It is I who sinned." She turned from him, looking down as she tried to stay in control.

"Lucrecia," he whispered. He reached for her face and gently brought her to look at him. "I never stopped loving you... The world is ending now, but I would have it that I would never leave you again."

She reached up to caress his face. She was trembling, as she had trembled the last night he saw her. "Stay with me now?"

He would! He looked away from her then... he would... if it were possible for him to do so. "Lucrecia... I would stay with you forever... but I can't yet." He turned back towards her. She was watching him intently. Her lower lip was trembling as tears silently streamed down her face.

"We caused this," he softly reminded her. "Who would ever have thought that our actions could have had such consequences? I have to make it right, now. I'm responsible for... so much. There are two children who are even now suffering because of us." He thought about Cloud and Tifa, and all the pain they were struggling against. He couldn't leave them to face Meteor... They were all just kids. Even Cid and Barret... They needed someone to guide them through this. He felt so much responsibility for all of them. But especially for Cloud and Tifa.

"We don't deserve to be together," he told Lucrecia. "Not until we make up for our past." He gazed into her eyes. "I didn't expect to find you here. I came here just to see this place one last time before I might have missed the chance forever. If I had known... that you would be here... I would have waited until Meteor was gone before I came to find you. Because then, I'd be able to promise you that I would never leave your side. And I wouldn't have to break it." He wasn't sure if his words were the truth... But they were all he could think to say. As it was, he felt terribly cruel as he said them. Which made him regret even more.

"Then even this is a passing dream," she whispered. "Every time I dream of you, I always ask you a question. But you never answer." She struggled to wipe away her tears before looking back up at him. "Will you answer now?"

"I'll answer anything you ask," he assured her. He reached for her hands again. "What is it?"

Her eyes watched him for a moment, before she averted them. "Do you know... what happened to my baby? His name... was Sephiroth... Lately, I've been dreaming of him as often as I dream of you... I was told he was dead... But..." She shook her head slightly. "I want to know the truth. Is Sephiroth alive?"

Vincent's heart slowly tore apart. Lucrecia was the mother of Sephiroth... All she had ever wanted was to have her own family... How would her heart survive if she were to know the truth?

He pulled her close to him, then. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed her against his chest. She allowed him to, and even rested her head against him, as they had once upon a time. Not too far, the waterfall rained down on them, and the sun reached that point in the sky so that light reflected through into the cave. A moment of magic. Like they were inside a prism... For a moment, Vincent almost believed...

But it was impossible to imagine anything anymore.

He closed his eyes and held her to him, wishing that this moment could last forever. "Lucrecia... Sephiroth is dead..."

OOOOOOO

_"The world is a terribly cruel place... In it, one mistake can fester like a disease. And every single person in existence can suffer for it. There is no respite. There is no momentary escape. And the cure... is almost impossible to find. And then you wonder... why search for a cure at all. The world may heal. But eventually, all things die. For that is the way of life. But then... if you don't allow your wounds to heal... you'll lose the one thing that makes the very prospect of death endurable. Hope. I promise you, my love. We will be together again. But only after I see to it that those who have suffered because of our mistakes find healing. I owe the world that much. But I will love you always. One day, we will meet again."_

OOOOOOO

Vincent stepped from the forest and silently looked out into the field, towards the town he had once called home. Between it and him, Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Red Thirteen, Cait Sithe, Yuffie, and Cid were all sitting together in the grass, talking amongst themselves as they waited patiently. Vincent watched them. He wasn't sure how long he watched them. But he couldn't look away from these children he felt responsible for. Especially Cloud and Tifa. They had lost so much because of him.

_Lucrecia... I love you..._

Cloud saw Vincent first. He silently rose to face the former Turk, sympathy expressed on his face, though doubtful it was that he knew what he was sympathizing for. Nevertheless, Vincent appreciated it.

He walked towards his friends, ready to join them. They waited for him, and then together they made their way back to the airship. There was still so much for them to do. And they couldn't just stop until the end.


	55. Double Crossing

**Chapter Fifty-Four: Double Crossing**

Reeve stood at the door of his office, staring at it with a frown while he crossed his arms. Avalanche was presently onboard the Highwind, waiting to arrive in Cosmo Canyon. Cid estimated it could take a couple of hours, so Cait Sithe had decided to get some sleep. He was curled up atop his moogle in a corner of the airship, seemingly sleeping, but actually turned off. Reeve had some business to do of his own, here in Midgar, and he wasn't sure when he would be given another chance.

He sighed, and leaned forward, resting his head on the door. If he was to be honest with himself, he still had to convince himself to go through with this. And if he didn't hurry up, he'd run out of time before he could do anything at all. It was one of those decisions where he could spend an entire week struggling over. And unfortunately, Reeve didn't have a week to spare. He had to do this now, or not do it at all.

He had told his friends that he wanted to be a part of Avalanche. Well... This had been bothering him for some time. How could he be a part of Avalanche and _still_ be holding their friends hostage? He couldn't... As long as he did, he was lying to himself. And he was lying to them.

And sure! He had been spying on ShinRa, and giving Avalanche useful information and everything. But ShinRa didn't know he was behind that. If they missed their two prisoners, they would _know_ Reeve was responsible. They would _know_ he had double crossed them.

But then if the planet was really going to be destroyed, then did it matter if he got in trouble with his company? If they all died a slow, terrifying, _agonizing_ death, how would he want to be remembered? That was... if anyone survived to remember him in the first place...

But then, hadn't he already answered that question?

_"Thank you for trusting me with this. I might have been a ShinRa spy, but right now, I just wanna be a part of Avalanche. I wanna be remembered like this, and not like how I was that night at the Gold Saucer."_

Reeve sighed again. The planet wasn't going to die. Bugenhagen was going to find a way to save it. They all believed that, and had faith in it. So if the planet _didn't_ die, if Reeve went through with this, he _still_ could end up in serious trouble if he got caught.

_You idiot,_ he told himself in self-contempt. _You've spent your entire adult life working for ShinRa! It's been your career. You don't deserve to survive through any of this! You don't deserve any special treatment!_

"Getting yourself killed," he whispered to himself. "Will make it impossible for you to do any good in the future... Getting killed now won't help anyone."

_Did you forget who you'd be getting killed for? You'd be helping Marlene and Elmyra! Or are they not worth it? Is your life more precious than the lives of Aeris's own mom and Barret's little girl?_

"No," Reeve shook his head in complete misery. "But-"

_Is that all you know how to say? Not only do you deserve to die, but you're also a coward! Think about it for a moment! Did Aeris deserve to die?_

"Of course not," Reeve shook his head again.

_But she did! The least you could do is get over this cowardice problem you've suddenly got yourself dealing with! If you die, you die, but think about how you'll be remembered! You'll be the one to have saved Elmyra and Marlene! Besides, no matter what you think of yourself, you're not an idiot. You've gotta be eight gazillion times smarter than anyone else here, for crying out loud. Do this right, and you _won't_ get caught!_

Reeve nodded. "Right." He took another deep breath and stepped from his inner office into his outer one. Elmyra instantly looked up at him in concern, but Marlene completely ignored him. She, with her marker still in hand, was in an awkward position on the floor, trying to trace her body by herself. She had actually gotten over half of it done, and it wasn't that bad of a tracing.

Reeve rolled his eyes, grabbed a key from his pocket and scurried over to the door. He quickly unlocked it and glanced outside, looking in both directions. There was no one in the hallway. Reeve shut the door and turned back towards his prisoners.

There must have been a look of panic on his face, for Elmyra was standing and looked as though she knew something was wrong.

"What is it?" she asked in pure alarm. "What's going on?"

Marlene sat up and capped the marker, looking at each of the adults in curious interest.

Reeve stepped towards Elmyra and spoke in a whispered voice, even though he knew there was no one around to hear besides the woman and child. "I'm getting you outta here!"

Elmyra frowned even as Marlene stood up in excitement. "Yay! We're gonna escape!"

Elmyra stared at Reeve in wonder. "We are?"

Reeve nodded in slight exasperation. "You think I could spy on Avalanche all this time and not find myself changing heart? You've got quite the daughter, Mrs. Gainsborough." And there was also that... Reeve hadn't told the two prisoners that Aeris had been killed... In all honesty, he didn't know how.

Elmyra nodded understandingly. Her face softened considerably at the mention of her daughter. "How are you going to get us out of here?"

Reeve turned towards his desk. There was a pair of handcuffs on its surface... The handcuffs Elmyra had worn when she had first been brought here. He grabbed them and turned to put them on her wrists. As he did so, he spoke. "I'm going to be moving you to another part of the building. Someplace more secure for two such important prisoners. The only ShinRa employees who would figure there's something terribly wrong with that idea are currently still in Junon, so we should be fine." Even as he spoke these words, he could feel himself beginning to sweat.

"Define 'fine'," Elmyra asked in concern.

"Look," he stared at her in increasing frustration. "I'm about to seriously betray some incredibly powerful people here! Cut me a little slack, okay?"

"Sure..." Elmyra nodded, but there was no mistaking her worry. Reeve turned towards Marlene.

"Come on. I'll let you keep the marker."

Marlene grinned in delight and when Reeve walked over to her to pick her up, she didn't complain. He took another deep breath, and led the two prisoners from the room. He shut and locked the door behind him, and then, gripping Elmyra's arm with unnecessary tightness, he started down the hall with them.

OOOOOOO

Before long, and Reeve _really_ wasn't sure how, he had managed to drive them down to the bottom plate of Midgar and to the city gates. Presently, he was standing outside the small car staring in through the open window at Elmyra, whose hands were free and who was now sitting at the wheel, and Marlene, who was sitting buckled up in the passenger's seat. He was still sweating profusely, and he was trembling slightly.

_Damn,_ he thought to himself unhappily. _What I just did makes half the stuff that Avalanche do every day look impossible! Or at least it does to me! I don't know how they do it!_

There was definitely a difference between putting a toy doll in danger than putting your actual _self_ in danger, and Reeve was quickly discovering how much of a difference that was. He didn't know if he could do what Avalanche did if he had to do it himself, and not through Cait Sithe! It was just incredible!

He focused on Elmyra. "There's a town not far from here called Kalm."

Elmyra nodded. "I've been there before."

"Go there now," Reeve told her. "And wait there for as long as you possibly can. When Avalanche is able to, I'll send them to meet you there. Marlene will be able to see her daddy again."

Elmyra somehow managed to smile. And Reeve realized she was much prettier when she smiled. "Thank you. For all this. I'm seriously in your debt."

"No!" Reeve shook his head violently. "You can't be in my debt, because I've just paid mine. We're square. Now get outta here before someone important sees you!"

"Thank you," Elmyra said again, before putting the car in drive and stepping on the gas. The car started forward, and before long it was well on its way out of Midgar. Reeve stood there watching it for a good amount of time before bringing himself to turn and head back to ShinRa Headquarters. And as he made his way back up the plates to his office building, he couldn't help but feel both pleased and satisfied in a way he couldn't ever remember feeling before.

_This was worth it,_ he thought to himself happily. _This is what you've been looking for._

He silently remembered how he had felt about life before joining Avalanche. How he had felt that if Urban Development was all there was to it, he wasn't sure what made it, as a whole, so precious to people. He had told himself that if life had any meaning, he certainly didn't know how to find it. But now he had...

_This is what it's all about..._

Reeve smiled to himself. Meteor just _couldn't_ destroy the planet! But if it did, by some ill fate, than he would die satisfied with what he had done to try saving it. And that was more than he had ever hoped for.


	56. The Flower Girl's Last Gift

**Chapter Fifty-Five: The Flower Girl's Last Gift**

Cait Sithe was up and moving again by the time the Highwind had reached Cosmo Canyon. The eight friends gathered together on the deck to look out at the canyon. It would be Cid and Vincent's first time there, but for the rest of them, it might as well have been theirs, too, for they had never seen the canyon from the sky before.

It seemed so much bigger than they remembered it being. The canyon itself was like a natural tear through the ground, and it looked so rugged and so majestic. It was a tear, yes, but one that the planet had created itself. It reminded them that the planet was powerful. More powerful than people. And it reminded Tifa of words that Aeris had once spoken. _"For the planet is strong, and does not want to die."_ It was a comforting thought.

They were let down outside the canyon, and they quickly made their way back into it. For Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Yuffie, and Cait Sithe, both the familiarity of the place, and even its very atmosphere, was one of hope and peace. There was no cause to worry, because everyone in the canyon had faith in the planet. And as for Red Thirteen... He was Nanaki again! And he swept towards his grandfather's home with joy in his heart for the first time in far too long.

"Grandfather!" Red Thirteen looked around frantically for the elderly man, and quickly pinpointed him near the back of the room they were in, holding in his hands a fine piece of pottery. Bugenhagen glanced up in surprise to see Cloud and the others walking into his house after the large cat.

"Nanaki!" the old man grinned and placed the pottery back on the ground as he stood and turned towards them. He nodded at the mercenary. "Cloud."

"It's good to see you again, Bugenhagen," Cloud said with a small smile as the man knelt down once more to embrace Red Thirteen. And as soon as he pulled away from the great cat, Yuffie jumped forward and was in the man's arms as well.

One by one, they greeted Red Thirteen's adoptive grandfather, and were welcomed by him into his home. They introduced Cid and Vincent, the former of whom was seriously beginning to feel left out by that point. And before long, they were all in higher spirits then they could remember ever being.

"So what brings you here?" Bugenhagen finally asked as he had them sit with him on the floor. "I'm guessing it involves Meteor."

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. We've kinda reached a dead end. We've no idea what to do from here."

Bugenhagen actually laughed in amusement. "I see. And you thought that I, in my infinite wisdom, would know what to tell you." He shook his head. "Don't you remember the perspective I've taken? The planet is going to die sooner or later. There is no stopping it."

"But grandfather!" Red Thirteen lowered his head slightly. "It can't end through Meteor! There just _has_ to be a way to save it! Can't you think of anything...?"

"I don't have all the answers, Nanaki," Bugenhagen sighed. "Sometimes, you have to look inside yourself before seeking the help of elders." At that point, he frowned, and glanced towards Cloud again. "Now. If you don't mind my asking... may I inquire as to where young Aeris is?"

Everyone in the old man's house suddenly froze. No one moved, and Cloud felt the color draining from his face. Finally, he looked away from Bugenhagen, his eyes focusing on a rather colorful red and orange pot.

"She was killed..." he quietly told the old man. "Sephiroth... killed her... in the City of the Ancients."

Bugenhagen suddenly sat up straighter, his face unnaturally pale as some memory came racing back into his mind. "Did he, now?"

"What a minute..." Tifa glanced over at Bugenhagen thoughtfully. "Nanaki knew where to find the City of the Ancients. He had heard of it before! I'm guessing you're the one who told him about it!"

Red Thirteen felt several eyes land on him, so he nodded his head. "That's right. Grandfather has taught me most everything I know. The City was no exception."

"Yes," Bugenhagen nodded. "I've seen the City in my lifetime. I've heard its tales." He looked back at Cloud. "I am truly sorry for your loss. However... please indulge me... What were you all doing in the City of the Ancients?"

"We were looking for her..." Cloud was obviously uncomfortable with the conversation. The memories it brought back... the wounds it reopened... he didn't want to think about it... Back then, he had been... he had almost... He glanced down shamefully. He couldn't meet any of their gazes.

"Cloud," Bugenhagen's voice was gentle as he focused on the mercenary. They were all focusing on him, as if he held some great secret. "Look at me for a moment."

Cloud obeyed reluctantly.

"Please tell me," the old man asked softly. "What was _she_ doing in the City of the Ancients?"

"I don't know..." Cloud admitted. "She... wasn't very clear. She said she was going to protect the planet from Meteor. She said only a Cetra could do it. And that the secret lay in the City. Whatever she was planning, it worried Sephiroth. He said she had power. That she would be difficult, and that he needed to stop her. So he killed her."

A smile formed on Bugenhagen's lips. "He might have actually been a help to us by doing that. Kind of ironic."

"_What_?" All eight friends stared at the old man in complete shock. Had he actually just _said_ that?

"How could you say a thing like that?" Yuffie demanded, angrily jumping to her feet.

"Grandfather..." Red Thirteen's ears lay flat on his head as he gazed at the man in confusion. "We don't understand..."

"Please, Nanaki," Bugenhagen cut in. "Don't mistake my meaning. I don't understand it completely myself. But... in all my years... I _have_ heard tales..."

"What kind of tales?" Cloud asked hesitantly.

"Whimsical ones at best," Bugenhagen admitted. He sighed and shook his head again. "It's been so many years... I was just a boy at the time. It's hard to remember them. The City of the Ancients... Returning to the planet... is holy."

Tifa leaned closer forward. "How is it holy?"

Bugenhagen shrugged. "I do not know... It has been _far_ too long. I had completely forgotten about this... Only now that you mention Aeris's death do I even _begin_ to recall... It may come to me in time. I would have to think about it, though. Meditate on it."

"But Bugenhagen," Cloud felt a mixture of hope and dread in his stomach. "We don't have any time to spare. We need to know now!"

Bugenhagen laughed. "Impatient, are we? All right." He pushed himself to his feet. "If it makes you feel better doing something, than let us go. Take me to the City of the Ancients, and I will meditate on this along the way."

Red Thirteen frowned. "Are you sure, grandfather?" He stood up as well. The others followed his lead.

Bugenhagen nodded. "I'm older now, Nanaki. But I'm still a wanderer at heart. The planet's calling me to do this. But I... must say farewell to the canyon before I leave."

"We understand," Cloud agreed. "Can I ask you a favor?"

Bugenhagen nodded. "Certainly."

"We're carrying around Huge Materia on the airship," the mercenary explained. "It's pretty delicate stuff. Can we leave it here in the canyon?" There was no sense in keeping it on the Highwind. Cloud had no idea when they might find themselves facing unexpected danger. They had gone through all this trouble to protect it from ShinRa. Now, they needed to protect it from themselves. For the planet...

Bugenhagen nodded again. "Yes. That sounds like a good idea."

OOOOOOO

By the time Cloud and the others had stored the Huge Materia inside Bugenhagen's home, the old man had had plenty of time to bid all of his friends farewell. He was ready to board the airship.

As they headed back towards the Highwind, Cloud couldn't stop thinking. Bugenhagen said something about all of this being holy... That was a comforting thought. But they didn't know what that was, and the only person Cloud found himself thinking about was Aeris... And how much he missed her.

Tifa moved so that she was walking next to the mercenary. She glanced at him for a moment, but then looked down at the dirt beneath their feet. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm..." Cloud hesitated, but his heart prevented him from keeping anything at all from her. "I'm remembering Aeris." He glanced at her, and she met his gaze. For a moment, they were silent.

And then Tifa nodded. "Me too."

"No matter how hard I try sometimes, I just can't forget," he whispered. "Because... you can't forget something if it's not gone... And she doesn't feel gone."

"I know," Tifa agreed. "It's like... she's been with us all this time. She's been at our side. When you were in the Lifestream especially. She brought you back to us. She was there when we found you."

"She's been so close," Cloud said thoughtfully. "So close that we can't see her. And she did something... She left behind something. And we don't even know what that is."

Tifa looked up at him and smiled hopefully. "We'll find it, Cloud. I know we will."

OOOOOOO

Bugenhagen was standing on the deck of the Highwind as it headed north. He gazed out across the land they traveled over and breathed in the air. It tasted good and sweet. He loved this world. It brought him so much peace.

Red Thirteen appeared at his side, and stood up on his hind legs, resting his fore ones on the rail. Doing this, he was taller than his grandfather. He glanced over at the old man. "Anything?"

Bugenhagen smiled. "Not yet, Nanaki. I do believe, for all your outer composure, you're more anxious about this than anyone else aboard the ship... with the possible exception of Cloud, that is." He chuckled to himself.

Red Thirteen nodded. "Of course... I'm just... Aeris returned to the planet, grandfather. And I want to know for sure that in her life, she accomplished the one thing she really wanted. To protect us."

"Well, we'll see in time," Bugenhagen assured his grandson. "Listen, Nanaki. I have not felt this way in so long. I wonder... how I lived so cynically. The planet will die one day, as all things must. But today... I can feel the workings of the planet in the wind. And this airship..." He glanced down admiringly at the wooden rail. "I can also feel the greatness of man's wisdom and knowledge in the smell of machinery." He smiled and looked at Red Thirteen. "Humans have it too. It's surprising, really. But incredibly hopeful."

"If it is as you say," Red Thirteen suggested. "Would humans have put us in this situation?"

"But Nanaki," Bugenhagen smiled fondly at his grandson. "Humans _didn't_. We are in this situation because of the Calamity from the Skies. We were put in this situation two thousand years ago."

Red Thirteen sighed. "Then it is up to us to see that it never happens again."

Bugenhagen nodded and looked back out over the land. "And just maybe... it's already too late for Meteor."

OOOOOOO

The Highwind past over the Sleeping Forest and brought them directly down into the City. They were all silent as they got off the airship and stood at its gates. The last time they had been here... they had lost Aeris...

Tifa wrapped her arms around her stomach miserably. She glanced around at the shining whitish blue streets and buildings, all of which were in ruin. She remembered... how much pain she had felt here... and when Cloud stood beside her, she moved closer to him, and took comfort in him as he wrapped his arms around her and held her. He was feeling the same way... Only worse... Because when he had last been here, he had been controlled by Sephiroth... And had almost killed her himself. The pain and the guilt and the regret piled up inside of him, and were almost more than he could bear.

Everything about the City seemed still and silent. They were the only ones there... And they were all thinking the same thing. This was where Aeris had died. Tears were once again filling in Yuffie's eyes. And pain was expressed on all their faces.

"Follow me," Bugenhagen spoke softly, out of respect for their loss. He quietly led them both deeper into the heart of the city, and, much to all of their relief, away from the dais on which Aeris had been killed.

Eventually they came to a broken down building. When it had stood tall and full, it had only been one story, and built like a block. The entire front part of the building had in fact not been a wall, but had been open, and the partition between the outside of the building and the inside had come in the form of several evenly spaced pillars. Though now several of those pillars had fallen, and much of the building had collapsed in on itself, it still reminded them all of some kind of temple. Nothing like the Temple of the Ancients or anything, but a temple nonetheless.

Bugenhagen led them inside. "I came here once as a young man. It seems so long ago now."

They past over fallen rubble and debris, following the old man as he led them towards the back of the ruined building. It was dark inside, but for the whitish blue glow that was so easily obvious outside in the city streets, and even more so here. They passed by large, gorgeous stupas, broken pieces of pottery, small statues, and even more fallen pillars, all of which had pictures and writings painted upon them. Before long, they found themselves standing in front of the farthest wall, gazing at a large fresco of writing that Cloud could not read. Bugenhagen approached it in awe.

"What's it mean?" Yuffie demanded, wiping away her tears as she looked up at it curiously.

"These words..." Bugenhagen shook his head in wonder. He started reading them through. "The knowledge of the Ancients... The planet is in a crisis... A crisis beyond human power or endless time... When it comes, we must search for Holy."

"Holiness?" Vincent asked, wondering if it was his place to be correcting so wise a man as Bugenhagen.

But the man shook his head, still not tearing his gaze away from the fresco. "No. Holy itself. The ultimate white magic."

Cloud felt his heart begin to race as he looked back and forth between Bugenhagen and the fresco. "That reminds me... Meteor... is the ultimate destructive magic."

"What?" Tifa glanced at him in surprise. But Cait Sithe nodded eagerly.

"That's right!" he cried. "Sephiroth told us that in the Temple of the Ancients!" He frowned thoughtfully. "If Meteor is the ultimate destructive magic, and Holy is the ultimate white magic, does that mean...?"

"Holy is perhaps our last hope to save the planet from Meteor," Bugenhagen nodded. He continued reading the fresco. "If a soul seeking Holy reaches the planet, it will appear."

"Reaches the planet?" Tifa asked thoughtfully.

Vincent crossed his arms. "Is that another way to say _returns_ to the planet?" The others glanced at him in wonder before looking questioningly back at Bugenhagen. The old man was still nodding.

"When that happens," he continued. "Then everything else – Meteor, Weapons, perhaps even ourselves – will disappear."

"Even _us_?" Barret asked, raising an eyebrow. _That_ didn't sound like a terribly good thing!

"It is up to the planet to decide," Bugenhagen replied. "Holy is for the planet... Like the Weapons are... Only Holy is _much_ more efficient. It chooses what is best for the planet, and separates it from what is bad for the planet. All that is bad will disappear."

Tifa stared at Bugenhagen in shock. "Are you saying... that if the planet thinks humans are bad for it... Holy will wipe us all out?"

"Damn..." Cid shook his head and turned away from them, resting his spear behind his head and over his two shoulders.

"We can't rely on that then!" Barret declared in frustration. "Holy could be just as bad as Meteor!"

Finally Bugenhagen looked away from the fresco and glanced knowingly at Barret. "Listen to yourself for a moment. You say you want to save the planet. Does that not mean you want what's _best_ for the planet?"

"Of course I do!" Barret exclaimed. "But I don't wanna be no murderer, either! We can't wipe out the entire human race!"

"So we allow humans to live to wipe out the planet?" Bugenhagen asked. Barret paused, hesitating. The old man smiled understandingly. "In any case, it is up to the planet to decide. I can't judge humans. We may have nothing to worry about. If worse comes to worse, at least Holy will be an easier end than Meteor. And maybe it won't be an end at all." He looked back up at the fresco.

Cloud took a deep breath. All this fighting they were doing... Were they trying to save the planet? Or trying to save the people who lived on it? Cloud had always thought the two went together. He had never once considered _this_ possibility... To save the planet... they would sacrifice all humans? But then... if they didn't take that chance... humans would all die anyway... And _with_ the planet. He shook his head. "How do we find Holy?"

"Meteor was summoned by Black Materia," Tifa said thoughtfully. "So wouldn't it make sense that Holy is summoned by White Materia?"

"Yes," Bugenhagen nodded. He glanced at Tifa with a smile. "You're a smart girl. The White Materia is the purest form of Materia in existence. It is whiter than fresh snow. Whiter than our souls." He returned his gaze to the fresco. "Whoever possesses the White Materia must create a bond between the planet and humans. They must speak to the planet. They must pray to the planet."

"Pray?" Cloud stepped forward. "That was what Aeris was doing here! It looked like she was praying!"

That caught _everyone's_ attention. Other than Bugenhagen, they all turned to Cloud in surprise.

"She was praying to the planet?" Yuffie asked. "Did she possess the White Materia?"

"She possessed _some_ kind of Materia," Cloud replied. "It belonged to her mother. She said it was useless Materia that didn't do anything."

Red Thirteen shook his head. "_All_ Materia does something. It _must_ have been the White Materia. If she couldn't figure out how to use it, than it was probably because she didn't know that she needed to pray to the planet to get it to work."

"She must have found out somehow," Vincent added.

"But it wasn't white..." Cloud whispered.

"No?" Bugenhagen continued reading the fresco. "If the prayer reaches the planet... If Holy is summoned... The White Materia will turn a bluish green." He glanced back at Cloud. "Was that its color?"

Cloud nodded in shock. "Yeah... That was its color..." He remembered... when Sephiroth had killed Aeris... her braid had loosened... and her mother's Materia had fallen free... It had landed in the water. It had been a whitish, blue-green sphere. His face paled. "She summoned it. She summoned Holy!"

"I don't believe it..." Tifa whispered, wrapping her arms once again around herself. "Does that mean the planet's already safe?"

Cloud was trembling. "Aeris... She prayed for Holy... She had the White Materia... And she returned to the planet when Sephiroth killed her... She did all three of those..." He closed his eyes as tears filled in them. "She knew about it... She left us... with hope. And we were too busy mourning her that we didn't even realize it! We should have figured it out sooner!"

"We didn't know," Cid said sorrowfully. "We couldn't have known, Cloud! She didn't tell us anything. She left and... did this for the planet... died for it!"

"Then she did," Red Thirteen whispered. "She gave everything she had to protect it. We should all be proud of her..."

Tifa nodded. "She left us something... The big gift the flower girl left for us." She turned away. "Thank you, Aeris..."

"But did it work?" Cloud asked, glancing back towards Bugenhagen. "She summoned it so long ago... Shouldn't it have already done its task? Meteor is still coming! And nothing's changed."

Bugenhagen turned from the fresco. He gazed at Cloud solemnly. "Something is stopping it. Something is getting in its way. Holy is trapped. I don't know how, but it must be freed if it is to do its job."

The others stared at him in shock. For a moment, no one could speak. What could _trap_ Holy? Aeris had given her life for it! That didn't make any sense...

"But what...?" Cloud stopped his question, for he suddenly knew the answer. "Sephiroth. He's the only one who could do it. He must have realized what he did to Aeris, and how he helped her. So now he's using whatever magic Jenova's given him to stop it."

"Damn," Barret and Cid spoke at the same time, each of them growing tense at the thought.

Tifa stared at Bugenhagen in growing alarm. "So what you're saying is... In order to free Holy so that it can destroy Meteor... we have to face Sephiroth again!"

"Yes," Bugenhagen nodded. "And it must be done soon, or Meteor will strike. I don't see us having any longer than a week left."

"A week!" Yuffie stared at him in abject terror. "But how can we do this in just a week?"

"We have to think of something," Cloud whispered. "The planet has just a week to live... And Aeris died to save it." He looked at each of his friends in turn. "We have to find a way to defeat Sephiroth. We have to free Holy. And we don't have any time to lose!"


	57. Showdown in Midgar

**Chapter Fifty-Six: Showdown in Midgar**

Reeve moved frantically through his office, turning pieces of equipment off and grabbing a large gadget that wrapped around his wrist like a watch. He put Cait Sithe on auto-pilot as he worked, with the gadget on his wrist available for him to communicate with his allies on the Highwind.

Right now he had just learned of something urgent. Rufus, Hojo, Scarlet, Heidegger, and Junon's cannon were all in Midgar. And something in his gut was telling him that this was _not_ a good thing.

He quickly shut off the light to his inner office and ran back out into his outer one. He closed and locked the door, and then frantically made his way out into the hallway, locking that door as well. And as he turned around, he came face to face with Scarlet. He jumped backwards in shock, almost shouting out loud right then and there.

Scarlet shook her head in amusement. "What's wrong, Reeve? I hope I didn't startle you. Is something on your mind?"

"Meteor," Reeve replied automatically, all the while hoping she didn't insist on entering his office. She would know right away that Elmyra and Marlene were gone. He quickly moved the conversation along. "I don't understand. What's the Junon Cannon doing here?"

Scarlet grinned. "We're going to use it to destroy Sephiroth."

Reeve stared at her in open amazement.

OOOOOOO

The eight friends, plus Bugenhagen gathered on the deck of the Highwind to brainstorm ideas. They needed a way to defeat Sephiroth so that his hold on Holy would be broken. Holy could destroy Meteor... That thought brought them hope, even as they dreaded the thought of Holy destroying humanity itself, if humanity proved to be a threat to the planet...

"This is the only option left to us," Tifa said softly. "We have to believe that the planet doesn't hate us..." All the while, she couldn't stop thinking about when she had been in the Lifestream with Cloud. The Lifestream... Everything in there had seemed so hurt and so angry... Maybe humans _were_ responsible... Maybe it _would_ be best if humans were eliminated.

Cait Sithe suddenly snapped to life and looked around at them in dread. "We have a problem, you guys."

Everyone looked over at him in concern. Cloud frowned. "What happened?"

Cait Sithe shifted uneasily. "You remember how the Junon Cannon had been missing from Junon when we were last there?"

"Did you find out where it is?" Red Thirteen asked.

Cait Sithe nodded, his eyes open wide. "Oh yeah. Rufus wants to use it to destroy Sephiroth. But the cannon operates on Huge Materia. That was wasted on the Rocket Plan, so basically, the cannon's useless. Unfortunately, our good friend Scarlet figured out that if they're gonna use it, they're gonna need a substitute power source. So they brought it to where Mako is gathered. They're gonna use Mako to power it up instead of Materia!"

"Where's that?" Cloud asked, a bad feeling crawling down into the pit of his stomach.

"Scarlet named the cannon the Sister Ray," Cait Sithe rolled his eyes before answering the question. "And it's in Midgar."

"Midgar!" Tifa stared at Cait Sithe in shock even as Barret jumped to his feet in alarm.

"I don't see how this is a bad thing," Cid interrupted quickly. "We're looking for a way to destroy Sephiroth. This could be it!"

"But there's just one problem," Cait Sithe replied, just as quickly. He was practically jumping up and down on his moogle. "The cannon wasn't built to use Mako as a power source! Scarlet's working on modifying it, but it won't be ready any time soon! And our scanners are detecting a Weapon approaching the city." He glared at Cid with crossed arms. "Do you know how many people live in Midgar? The only thing that can stand against a Weapon is the Sister Ray cannon and it's not ready yet!"

"Marlene's in Midgar!" Barret exclaimed in abject terror. Cid immediately turned and raced towards the helm. In a matter of seconds, the airship was turning and flying towards Midgar. Yuffie sank miserably to the floor, clutching her stomach in her arms.

Barret turned on Cait Sithe. "What about Marlene? What's gonna happen to her?"

"Don't worry," Cait Sithe shook one of his paws at the big black man. "She's still with Aeris's mom. I already got them both outta Midgar. By now, they should be in Kalm."

Barret's face darkened in disbelief. "Ya _what_? Ya mean she's been outta ShinRa hands, and we've _still_ been putting up wit' cha?"

"Don't even!" Cait Sithe rounded angrily on Barret. "Don't even _start_ acting like that, because I'm not in the mood for it right now! There are _thousands_ of people living in that city, and Marlene is _not_ the only one who's life matters!"

"Ya think I don't know that?" Barret demanded furiously. "But her life matters ta me most!"

"Oh yeah?" Cait Sithe glowered with equal fury. "Let me ask _you_ a question, Barret! How many people do you think _died_ when you blew up all those Reactors in Midgar? Marlene's life matters to you? If Avalanche had been led by anyone else, and Marlene was one of those who got killed, how would you view Avalanche then?"

"I did what I did for the planet!" Barret roared. "Ya gotta expect a few casualties."

"You sound like ShinRa," Cait Sithe shot back angrily. "A few casualties? Be honest with yourself! Is that what you would say if Marlene had died? You've got no right going around thinking you're better than I am, and that you've suffered putting up with me, because Avalanche is _no_ better than ShinRa, and I could just as easily say that I've suffered putting up with _you_!"

"I don't wanna hear it from _no one_ in ShinRa!" Barret shouted.

"Stop it!" Tifa jumped in desperately. She turned towards Cait Sithe. "Barret knows what he did! What we all did in Midgar... we can't forget it! And we haven't! People died, and we're sorry for that! We don't expect to be forgiven if we don't deserve it! But we can't just stop what we're doing now because of mistakes we made in the past! If we're going to protect Midgar from the Weapon, than we can't let those mistakes weigh us down today!"

Cid came running back to the deck from the helm. "We're coming up on Midgar!"

Cait Sithe glanced at him in surprise. "Already?"

Cid nodded. "We were lucky. My crew has this ship drift around when we're up here considering damn options. We just happened to be close to the city."

"And we're not the only ones," Vincent said calmly. He was standing at the bow of the ship, gazing towards Midgar. The others joined him there and, to their utter horror, they could see both the Sister Ray cannon the Weapon.

The Weapon did not look anything at all like the one they had seen in Junon. Nevertheless, it was unmistakable.

It was a huge monster that possessed none of the beauty of the first Weapon, but every bit of its magnificent power. It was almost human in shape, but its size would have made even a giant of a man look like an ant. It looked almost like a large robot, with glowing eyes and a mechanized appearance. It was gray in color and winged, hovering above the city like an overgrown bug. There were several pieces of weaponry built into those wings, as well as one that looked like a cannon built into its chest. There was nothing it could be _but_ one of the planet's Weapons. And it looked _entirely_ capable of leveling the city of Midgar.

Cloud and Bugenhagen stared at it in wonder. It was the first time either of them had ever seen a Weapon. As for the others, for a moment, none of them could speak, too great was their alarm. For they _had_ seen a Weapon before. They knew all too well what one could do.

OOOOOOO

President Rufus stood in his office at ShinRa Headquarters, staring out the window at the Weapon hovering over the city. On the table behind him there lay a radio with which Heidegger was to contact him with when the cannon was finished with its modifications. All the president could do now was wait and watch.

There would be no stopping it, he thought dully to himself, if the Sister Ray was not finished soon. Already he could see the Weapon's own personal armaments powering up. It made the entire creature glow with golden light.

People in the top plate's streets were in a panic, screaming as they ran chaotically to get down and out of the city. For those citizens living in any of the plates underneath the top one, they could not see the sky, and were thus blissfully unaware of the danger they were in. Rufus almost envied them.

The radio behind him suddenly came to life and Heidegger's voice buzzed through. "Modifications for the Sister Ray are now complete, sir!"

Rufus closed his eyes in grateful relief. He turned for the radio. "Fire now!"

OOOOOOO

"The Highwind is still too far away," Cid shook his head in defeat. "That damn thing is powering up and we aren't gonna get there in time."

"They're powering up the cannon!" Cait Sithe nearly shouted in sudden hope. "They've finished the upgrades!"

As those aboard the Highwind watched, the Weapon suddenly spat out a terrible blast from his own artillery. At the same time, the Sister Ray cannon sent its own frighteningly powerful blast careening towards the Weapon.

Tifa screamed as destruction rained down on the top plate of Midgar. Several buildings instantly exploded as the Weapon's blast collided into them. Fire and smoke filled the plate as men, women, and children screamed and the chaos augmented.

Meanwhile, the Sister Ray's blast crashed savagely into the Weapon, literally ripping it apart as the shot continued blasting north. It screamed in agony as it was blown to pieces, and Bugenhagen turned away as if in his own pain.

"Grandfather?" Red Thirteen turned towards the old man in concern. "What's wrong?"

"The cannon was powered by the planet's Mako energy," Bugenhagen whispered. "The Weapon was created by the planet as well. Now, the ShinRa have forced the planet to destroy its own defenses. It is in great pain and anger. I have never heard it cry so loud."

Red Thirteen lowered his head and his tail fell between his legs. "This shall not help mankind."

Barret turned towards Cait Sithe. "One of those buildings that got destroyed by the Weapon was the ShinRa Headquarters. I can see it already. It's been torn apart."

"My body is not in the Headquarters," Cait Sithe said softly. "It is with the cannon at another location. However... President Rufus is probably dead." He turned towards Cloud. "The blast from the cannon was intended for the Northern Crater. It was pure luck that the Weapon was in its path. But even now, the shot is firing towards the barrier surrounding the crater. If our luck holds, it'll destroy the one thing separating us from Sephiroth."

Cloud's mouth had dropped open with that bit of news. "The crater is in the cannon's _range_?"

Cait Sithe smiled dully. "Yeah. We've got Mako energy from six Reactors powering up the cannon. That blast was six times stronger than the one that destroyed the Weapon in Junon. The crater is _definitely_ in range. The barrier should be gone in a matter of minutes, if this all goes according to plan."

Cloud turned towards Cid. "We should go check!" Cid nodded and turned back towards the airship's helm.

OOOOOOO

Reeve stood by the Reactor that they had placed the cannon next to. Scarlet and Heidegger were talking with another group of ShinRa employees as Reeve used the gadget around his arm to speak through Cait Sithe to the others.

He glanced over his shoulder back at the cannon. To his horror, it was vibrating, as if powering up once more.

"What's going on?" he shouted, rushing over to Scarlet and Heidegger. Both of them glanced his way in bafflement.

"What are you on about Reeve?" Scarlet demanded.

He gestured wildly at the Sister Ray. "It's powering up again! What are you gonna shoot _this_ time?" Scarlet and Heidegger, along with the other ShinRa, glanced at the huge cannon beside them in alarm. Sure enough, it was coming to life again.

Scarlet's face paled. "That's not good. The cannon needs to cool before it can be fired again! We have to shut it off!"

Both the woman and Reeve rushed over to the side of the cannon and started working with several of the control panels built into the cannon's side. But nothing they did had any effect on the cannon itself. It kept heating up to fire another blast.

"It's inoperable," Reeve turned towards Scarlet in frustration. "What happened?"

"Something switched the Sister Ray over to mainframe operation," Scarlet said in shock. She turned towards Reeve in growing terror. "We can't operate the cannon manually. It has to be down through computer! And the computer isn't here! It's in the Headquarters!"

Reeve grabbed her roughly by her arms. "The Headquarters was destroyed!"

She shook her head. "A part of it had to have survived the blast! The computer was on the first level! The foundation of the building must still be standing! Someone has to be in there working the cannon!"

"Who?" Reeve shouted. Heidegger stepped up to the man and roughly pushed him off of Scarlet.

"I don't like how you're being so arrogant, Reeve," the General said coldly. "You better watch your place."

"There's no time for that!" Reeve grabbed the radio that was still in Heidegger's hands. He quickly tuned it onto a separate level so that it would connect with the cannon's mainframe office in the ruined ShinRa Building. "Who the _hell_ is in there?"

The answer was almost instant. "This is for Sephiroth! He'll get all the Mako energy he could possibly want!" There was wild laughter from the other end, and Reeve, Scarlet, and Heidegger all stared at the radio in shocked astonishment.

"Hojo?" Reeve felt his body trembling. "Hojo's doing this!" He brought the radio close to his mouth. "Hojo _stop_ this! If you fire the cannon before it cools, you could easily cause an explosion that would wipe out several of Midgar's plates!"

More laughter from the other end. "One or two Midgars? It's a small price to pay!"

"Hojo!" Reeve shouted furiously.

"Show me, Sephiroth," Hojo's voice was softer now, barely audible. But Reeve, Scarlet, and Heidegger could all make it out. "Beyond the powers of science... Before your presence, science is _powerless_... I hate that, but I'll concede to it. And I will give you what you require..."

"He's insane," Scarlet stated straightforwardly. Heidegger nodded agreeably.

Reeve threw down the radio in frustration and stormed several yards away so that he might once again use his gadget to contact Avalanche through Cait Sithe.

OOOOOOO

"Turn around!" Cait Sithe shouted.

Cloud and the others all glanced at the small cat in surprise, watching as he literally jumped up and down on his moogle. "What's wrong?"

"We have to go back to Midgar!" Cait Sithe declared. "Someone tell Cid! We don't have a lot of time!"

Red Thirteen immediately dove towards the helm. Yuffie fell down onto her face, bracing herself as the airship began turning once again to head back to Midgar. She groaned as her face turned green.

"What the _hell's_ going on?" Barret demanded.

"Hojo's lost it!" Cait Sithe informed them, causing Vincent to tense slightly at the name. "He's working on his own now! He's attempting to force the cannon to fire another shot at the Northern Crater. He seems to think the Mako energy is going to help Sephiroth in some way. But before the cannon cools, such a shot will cause it to explode! It'll destroy half of Midgar! We've got to stop him!"

"How?" Tifa asked frantically. "How do we stop him?"

"We can't control the cannon from where we are," Cait Sithe replied. "We have to find Hojo and stop him head on!"

"Why can't you just get rid of the cannon's power source?" Cloud asked. "Close the Reactor's valves? Then the Mako won't be able to get through to the cannon! It won't matter who's in control as long as the Mako energy can't power it up!"

"Good theory," Cait Sithe said with a shrug. "But if you shut off the Reactor's pipe valves, then the Mako won't have _anywhere_ to go at all! It's all pile up in one spot with no way to escape. If that happens, there will be a _huge_ explosion anyway! We have to stop Hojo!"

"Damn," Barret shook his head in disgust.

But Cloud was nodding. "The airship is headed back out towards Midgar. We'll find Hojo... and stop him."

OOOOOOO

Reeve turned and headed back towards Scarlet and Heidegger, both of whom were in the middle of an intent conversation with another ShinRa employee. Reeve interrupted, hardly caring what they were talking about. "Avalanche is on its way into Midgar. They're gonna stop Hojo. Make sure no one gets in their way."

Heidegger and Scarlet both turned towards Reeve in complete and utter disbelief. "Are you _joking_?"

"I'm not!" Reeve declared impatiently. "We have to cooperate with them or Hojo will destroy Midgar!"

"President Rufus is dead!" Heidegger shot back furiously. "And it's about time, too, if you ask me! I couldn't _stand_ following the command of a child! And I'm _not_ going to _stand _listening to _you_ make orders either, Reeve! _I_ am in charge now! And I will do things _my_ _way_!"

Reeve stared at the General in horror. He couldn't believe this! Not only was the planet facing certain destruction, but so was Midgar! And _still_ all these people cared about was their own ambition! Maybe... Holy _should_ wipe out mankind. Maybe everyone would be better off that way...

"If Avalanche sets foot in Midgar," Scarlet hissed. "They will be eliminated. And as for you, Reeve. You are under arrest. Collaborating with terrorists? How long ago did you double cross us?"

"Who cares?" Heidegger cut in. He glowered at several ShinRa guards. "Get him out of my sight!"

"You're making a mistake!" Reeve shouted as two guards rounded on him and grabbed his arms. But when they started escorting him away from the cannon and the Reactor, he did not fight them. Surprisingly, they did not search him, and thus did not find the gadget that he had hidden underneath his sleeve. He could still communicate with Avalanche and control Cait Sithe. Even now, he could still help the planet! And he would... even if it was the last thing he did!

OOOOOOO

The Highwind flew over the city of Midgar. From it, they all could see the destruction and the chaos the city was in. So they wasted no time in tossing over the rope ladder and climbing down to join in that chaos. Only Bugenhagen and the crew remained on the airship. Cloud and the others quickly touched ground.

Cait Sithe turned towards Cloud. "The cannon is by the Reactor! From here we have to go past it to get to Headquarters! Heidegger and Scarlet know we're coming and could be waiting for us! We need to be careful!"

Cloud shook his head. "I'm not too worried about Scarlet or Heidegger. I'm worried about Hojo. The cannon could fire at any moment, and if it does, we'll all be dead! That's what you told us, right?"

Cait Sithe nodded. "Yeah. That about sums it up."

"We don't have any time to waste," Vincent said calmly. He gestured towards Cait Sithe. "After you."

The cat nodded and started manipulating his moogle down into an alleyway. "Follow me!"

They ran through several streets as they headed towards the Reactor. For Cloud, Tifa, and Barret, doing so was like running backwards in time. The last time they had been in Midgar, approaching a Reactor like this, felt like a whole other lifetime. Another world. Déjà vu swept over them, as they down streets they had not seen in what felt like years, and had never expected to see again.

Tifa shivered as once again her own words returned to her. _"This city is Hell... in every way. Who wouldn't want to leave?"_ She had entered Hell again. And this time, as it was overcoming terrible destruction from the Weapon... as people ran in every direction in a chaotic panic, looking to escape... as the weight of the knowledge that a cannon could at any moment blow them all to bits pushed down on them... it really was Hell in every imaginable sense. Tifa felt tears in her eyes, but she held them back. Hell or not, they had work to do to save countless lives.

They were running past several train tunnels when Cait Sithe realized too late that he had led them into a trap. For suddenly, countless ShinRa guards rushed out from the tunnels and Avalanche found that they were surrounded.

"You damn double crosser!" Barret shouted furiously at the cat.

"I didn't do this!" Cait Sithe shouted back with equal fury. "I told you we were expected, didn't I?"

"We don't have time for this!" Cid cursed as the guards cautiously approached them with their weapons raised.

"Surrender now!" one of the guards ordered. "And we'll take you into custody, but we won't kill you."

"We're all gonna die if you don't let us go!" Yuffie shouted desperately. "Your cannon's gonna go 'boom'!"

"That's enough!"

Both the members of Avalanche and the ShinRa guards turned towards the tunnels in equal surprise to see three figures emerging towards them. They were instantly identifiable. The Turks. Reno. Rude. And Elena.

Reno was the one who had spoken. He glowered at the guards. "You're all dismissed! In light of the utter chaos throughout this city, you've all been relieved of your duties! Go find your families! We'll take care of Avalanche."

Apparently, family was the one thing on these guards' minds. For without a single question, and without _any_ hesitation, they dropped their weapons and sprinted in various directions. They all desired to search for their loved ones, and nothing else mattered. Not their jobs. Certainly not Avalanche. Perhaps there _was_ some decency among the ShinRa.

The members of Avalanche glanced apprehensively at the Turks, who stared back at them with crossed arms, almost in contempt.

But before anyone from Avalanche could say anything at all, Reno just rolled his eyes and turned to head back into the train tunnel he had come from. "Let's go, guys. We still got work to do."

"What about Avalanche?" Elena asked, turning after him uncertainly. "We have orders to apprehend them. The company may be in turmoil, but an order is an order, isn't it?" The way she spoke... Her tone was not sincere. It was almost as if her words were forced. An exaggeration.

Reno glanced back at her. "Then you'll obey mine. ShinRa's done. I lead the Turks, and I'm leading them in a retreat. We're not going to get in Avalanche's way." His tone, too, sounded forced. Like this was all part of a script. He glanced back at Cloud and the others. "Good luck. Try not to die, okay?" He glanced at Tifa. "Farewell, baby." Then, waiting for no reply, he turned and disappeared down the train tunnel.

Elena glanced over at Tifa and winked before looking back at Cloud. "Remember the spirit of the Turks." She turned and raced after Reno.

Rude was smiling and shaking his head. He sighed. "That's it, then. Our mission has ended." He, too, turned and followed his fellow Turks.

In the train tunnel, Reno glanced at Elena, who had by that point caught up with him. He smiled at her. "Hey, Elena. You were a great Turk." She looked back at him and blushed, but didn't reply. Rude caught up with them, and they made their way through Midgar together.

Back outside, Vincent was shaking his head. He had judged them too quickly. The Turks had not disgraced themselves over the years as he had thought. Perhaps he shouldn't consider himself a former Turk. One could argue that they were not part of ShinRa at all. They were just the Turks. And nothing more or less.

Cloud rolled his eyes and looked back at Cait Sithe. "Come on. Let's keep going." The cat nodded, and they continued on their way.

Before long, they came to the Reactor where Scarlet and Heidegger were waiting with the Sister Ray cannon – which was still powering up for the next shot. It was going to be an incredibly strong one. More powerful than the previous blast. Maybe Cait Sithe had under-estimated the amount of destruction it would cause. Maybe half of Midgar was just wishful thinking. Perhaps _all_ of Midgar would be destroyed!

"I won't let this happen!" Cait Sithe shook his head, pressing the moogle towards the General. "Heidegger! You idiot!"

Heidegger and Scarlet both glanced up in surprise, watching as Cait Sithe, Cloud, and the rest of Avalanche made their way towards them.

Heidegger glanced at Scarlet. "What the hell?"

She shrugged. "It's Reeve's toy." Heidegger's face turned red as he scowled in frustration.

Barret glanced over at Cait Sithe haughtily. "Reeve, huh?"

"Forget that," Cait Sithe glowered at him in annoyance. But they didn't have any more time to argue. For Scarlet had seen Tifa.

"Well, look who it is," she turned towards the other woman hatefully. "You stupid little slut. I hope you know I'm going to see you dead. You got away in Junon, but now that I think about it, it would be more poetic to kill you in Midgar."

Tifa tensed even as Cloud and Cait Sithe both moved between her and Scarlet. Cait Sithe was furious.

"You know what, Scarlet?" he demanded angrily. "There's been something I've been meaning to tell you for a _long_ time! _You_ are a stupid, ugly, _cow_!"

"Oh?" She glowered at him. "Well if you've sent a toy my way, Reeve, then I'm going to send a toy _your_ way!" As she spoke, a large techno-soldier much like the one President Shinra had used on them when he had trapped them in the ventilator appeared from behind the cannon. It was a huge machine that resembled a man much like the Weapon that had attacked Midgar had. But in comparison to that Weapon, _this_ piece of equipment was nothing more than a piece of scrap metal. Cloud rolled his eyes.

"I call it the Proud Clod!" Scarlet proclaimed arrogantly. "And it will _kill_ all of you!"

Yuffie jumped forward with her four-bladed boomerang. Letting out an irritated, impatient cry, she sent it flying. The boomerang flew towards the techno-soldier, literally _ripping_ through it, and came flying back at her. She caught it with expert ease even as the damage done to the machine caused it to explode.

Ultimately, the explosion was not that powerful. It certainly wouldn't do even a _fraction_ of the damage that would be done should the cannon erupt. Nevertheless, it caused the members of Avalanche to dive for whatever cover they could find. And as for Heidegger and Scarlet... Both of them had been by far too close to the machine for their own good. When it had exploded, they had been directly beside it. They could not have survived.

The flames began to die down, but smoke and debris was everywhere. There might have been no soil in Midgar, but dust built up like fog, and it got in their eyes, noses, and mouths. For a few moments, all they could do was cough.

Yuffie glanced sheepishly at Cait Sithe and Tifa, both of whom were glaring at her. She shrugged. "Couldn't help myself! They were driving me insane!"

"Forget that!" Cloud broke in. "We have to get to ShinRa Headquarters! We have to stop Hojo!"

OOOOOOO

Hojo was frantically moving from computer to computer, screen to screen, doing whatever he could to draw more Mako from the Reactors and plant it into the cannon. The office around him was literally covered in dust and debris and smoke entered from the halls. It was dark... The only light came from the computer screens, which were rather blinding, he thought. Certainly unhealthy to his eyes. But he hardly cared. Sephiroth would soon be ruler of the world, and then it wouldn't matter whether or not he blinded himself.

The upper levels of this building had been destroyed by the Weapon. Rufus was almost certainly dead. No one else was in this building, which probably was a wise thing. It could come crashing down on him at any moment. But even still, Hojo did not care. The only thing that mattered was drawing as much Mako as he could into the cannon, and firing it off towards the crater.

"Hojo!" The voice came from behind. "Stop right there!"

Hojo whirled around in surprise, but relaxed as soon as he saw Cloud entering next to Cait Sithe. Behind them, he could make out the man with the gun, the girl, the red specimen he had once held in captivity, and two others he cared little for. He turned away from them, unimpressed. "Oh. The failure."

"At least remember my name," the mercenary said softly. "It's Cloud."

Hojo spun around to face him in annoyance. He spoke with hateful contempt. "Of course! Cloud! Every time I see you it literally _pains_ me to think about how little scientific sense I had! I evaluated you as a failed project! But you were the only one who succeeded as a Sephiroth clone!"

Cloud tensed as Tifa walked to stand next to him. Doubt and uncertainty tried to flow through him, but he managed to cast it aside as he glared at the scientist in disgust. "I am not a clone."

Hojo crossed his arms and shook his head. "Believe what you want, failure. But Sephiroth is looking for Mako energy, and I plan on giving it to him. I won't be distracted."

"Why would you do that?" Cloud demanded as the man started to turn back towards his computers.

But the question then brought the scientist to whip back towards the mercenary. "Quite asking me 'why' you moron!" But then he smirked. "Actually, you might be cut out to make a good scientist." He glanced over his shoulder at a screen behind him. "Energy level is at eighty three percent. This is taking too long." He glowered in frustration at Avalanche. "My son is in need of help and power."

Cloud's mouth almost fell open. "_Your_ son?"

Hojo chuckled. "He doesn't even know. What will Sephiroth think when he finds out? Always looking down on me like that!" He laughed maniacally. "I had the woman with my child inject herself with Jenova cells! When Sephiroth was still in the womb!" His face turned red while he laughed as if he were possessed. He turned from them, all the while laughing hysterically.

Cloud was trembling. "You did this... This crime against Sephiroth..."

Hojo looked back at him, talking through his laughter. "_I_ committed no crime against him! Look at what I am doing now! I will give him all the power he could possibly desire! If you see _any_ of this as a crime, then the one who committed it was his mother!"

Before anyone else could react, something shot past Cloud and Tifa and towards the scientist. Hojo barely heard it coming, and the next thing he knew, a man had caught him by his throat and had him pinned up against a wall, his feet hanging several inches off the ground. Hojo's eyes widened in surprise as he struggled to breathe. His captor was Vincent.

"Lucrecia committed no crime," Vincent growled softly, his eyes very nearly glowing red as he struggled to keep his human form and not to transform into the beast that Hojo had created. It was difficult for him to do so, and for a few moments, Vincent stood there, holding Hojo against the wall, transforming back and forth between man and monster.

Recognition lit Hojo's eyes. And then they narrowed in both hate and fury. With unexpected power, the scientist threw up his legs and savagely kicked Vincent away from him. Vincent was propelled backwards and landed on the ground as Hojo himself landed on his feet.

"Vincent," the scientist hissed, his eyes literally beginning to glow.

"What's happening?" Tifa demanded as the seven friends stood watching the scene between the two men, too awed to move.

Vincent looked up at Hojo. Before their very eyes, the man was transforming into a monster.

The monster glared down at the Turk. "I too have injected myself with Jenova cells! I had a feeling this day might come. I will kill you now, Vincent, as I should have killed you _years_ ago!"

Vincent immediately transformed into his monster form. When Hojo lunged towards him, the Turk dove out of the way. Hojo spun around with incredible speed and lunged once more at Vincent. The two collided, and literally crashed through the office wall.

"Vincent!" Tifa screamed as more rubble came piling down from the walls and ceiling.

Cloud turned towards Cait Sithe. "Shut down the cannon!"

The cat nodded. "Right away!" He and his moogle hopped to it. Meanwhile, Cloud and the others sprinted after Vincent and Hojo.

The two had tore their way into the ShinRa Building's main lobby. They were fighting each other with monstrous savagery, biting, wrestling, scratching, pounding... Whatever worked as they literally fought to kill each other.

However, it seemed like Hojo was doing better. He was covered in blood, but that blood came from wounds he inflicted on Vincent. For while Vincent still clung to some trace of his humanity, even in this monstrous form, Hojo was completely gone. All that remained of him was an insane, blood thirsty monster out for the kill. But perhaps... there _was_ still some remains that hinted Hojo might, as insane as he was, still be in control of himself. For he was screaming.

"You bastard!" the scientist turned monster shrieked as he ripped through Vincent's body. "You think... you deserved... her more than me? She was mine! And you took her! I didn't want this! I wanted to be with her!" He leaned down to grab Vincent's neck with his own teeth.

But Vincent quickly kicked his legs out, pushing Hojo away from him. He rolled back onto his feet, spinning around to face his enemy. "Neither of us deserve her! She was too good for both of us!"

Hojo lunged at him furiously, but Vincent caught him head on. For a moment, they both struggled against each other, trying to push the other away. Finally Hojo succeeded. Vincent went sprawling backwards, landing on the floor. He looked up in time to see Hojo walking menacingly towards him, with more hate in his eyes than humanly possible. But then... Hojo was no longer human. He belonged to Jenova now.

"You die alone, Vincent," Hojo spat at him. "And when this is over, if anyone survives Sephiroth's wrath, than _I_ will find her! I know she still lives, and I will take her back! Die knowing what I will do to her."

Vincent stared up at Hojo in alarm. His body was failing him now. He could barely hold himself up as he sat on the ground, trying to overcome his pain and weakness. Hojo held up one monstrous arm, claws extracting as he prepared to kill the Turk.

But as Vincent watched, another form suddenly flew through the air towards Hojo. It was Cloud, and his Buster Sword was drawn and raised over his head. Hojo saw him too late, and turned around in a desperate attempt to defend himself. But he proved to be no match for the mercenary, and Cloud came down on him, wielding an incredibly powerful blade.

Hojo shrieked as Cloud easily slashed the sword through his flesh. He was brought down forcibly to the ground, and Cloud landed in a crouch beside him. Life immediately left the scientist as the mercenary stood and glared down at its body with equal fury.

He glanced at Vincent then, who took this time to transform back into a man. Cloud sheathed his Buster Sword. "I'm sorry, Vincent. But he was as much my enemy as he was yours."

Vincent nodded wearily as Cloud walked over to him and helped him to his feet. "Are you all right?"

The Turk nodded painfully. "I'll survive." He glanced towards the hole he and Hojo had created in the wall. Tifa, Barret, Red Thirteen, Yuffie, Cid, and Cait Sithe were all standing in it, watching in horrified concern.

Cloud turned towards the cat sitting on the moogle. "Are you all right, Reeve? How's the cannon?"

"It's been shut down," Cait Sithe replied after he had caught his breath. "Midgar's safe from here on out. I hope."

"And how 'bout _you_?" Cloud asked.

Cait Sithe shrugged. "I'm fine. Scarlet and Heidegger had me arrested, but in the chaos, I managed to get away from them. I'm going to stay in Midgar. See what I can do to help out. But Cait Sithe will continue on with you. That way, I can be in two places at once, helping in two different situations at once."

Barret glowered at the cat with sarcastic contempt. "Careful, Reeve! At this rate, ya might actually be able to make up for ya crimes!"

Cait Sithe smiled. "I certainly hope so."

"Come on," Cloud cut in. "We need to get back to the Highwind. We have to stop Sephiroth!" He glanced back at the cat. "Is the barrier around the crater gone?"

Cait Sithe nodded. "It sure is. The cannon did its job beautifully."

"Good," Cloud took a deep breath. "Then all that's left is freeing Holy so that it can destroy Meteor."

"Then let's go," Tifa said softly. "Let's finish this."


	58. One Week to Live

**Chapter Fifty-Seven: One Week to Live**

"ShinRa's finished," Cait Sithe declared as the group climbed back aboard the Highwind. Several members of the crew, who had happened to be in earshot when that statement was announced, cheered as they continued on with their duties. Bugenhagen, however, just shook his head and sighed.

"What's wrong, grandfather?" Red Thirteen asked, as he trotted over to the old man disquietly. Bugenhagen didn't reply, and the two sat down together on the deck, the grandfather apparently worn, and the grandson rather concerned.

Cid turned towards his crewmembers. "All right! We've gotta fucking week to get back up to the Northern Crater! Let's get a move on it!"

"Wait," Cloud interrupted softly.

"Wait?" Yuffie turned towards the mercenary in surprise, as did the others. "Wait for what?"

Cloud didn't reply right away. He was standing on the deck of the ship, looking down thoughtfully at the wooden floorboards as his companions watched him uncertainly. He had always been the most eager to fight Sephiroth to end all this. And so none of his friends would ever have thought him even capable of saying 'wait'. Especially now.

After a few moments, Cloud turned towards Red Thirteen and Bugenhagen. "You want to see everyone in Cosmo Canyon again, don't you?"

Red Thirteen hesitated, but after a quick glance at Bugenhagen, he nodded. His grandfather did as well.

So Cloud looked at Barret. "And you want to see Marlene, right?"

Barret took a slight step backwards as his expression turned defensive. "Don't ask me that." Of _course_ he wanted to see Marlene again! But he didn't know where Cloud was headed with all this. None of them did. And the questions the mercenary asked made them somewhat uneasy.

"We can beat Sephiroth," Cloud said softly. "But even if we do, there's a possibility that we might not find a way to release the power of Holy. If that's the case, there won't be a planet for us to protect."

He had glanced away again, for he couldn't bring himself to look at them. And they all felt increasing dread by his words. Barret and Cid's faces were also darkening in growing frustration.

Cloud continued. "Or, if we can't beat Sephiroth... we're as good as dead anyway. We'll just be going a little bit before everyone else on the planet."

Barret glowered angrily at the mercenary. "Don't be thinking ya gonna lose before ya even fight!"

"No!" Cloud glanced over at Avalanche's leader in surprise. "That's not what I meant!" He shook his head and sighed, taking a deep breath before deciding to try this all over again. "What I meant was... what are we all fighting for?"

The others started, staring at Cloud in bafflement. The dark expressions on Barret and Cid's faces dimmed somewhat, as even the captain's crewmembers stopped what they were doing to turn and listen to the mercenary.

"I want us all to understand that," Cloud said. "'Saving the planet,' or 'for the future of the planet,' both sound fine! But that's not how it really is." Barret made to interrupt, but Cloud spoke over him. "For me, this is a personal feud. I wanna beat Sephiroth and settle my past. Saving the planet just happens to be a part of that. And I've been thinking it's the same for all of us. We're all fighting for ourselves. And for that someone... or something... or whatever it is... that's really important to us. That's what we're fighting for. That's why we keep up this battle for the planet."

For several minutes, no one spoke. And no one looked at each other. They thought about Cloud's words, and as they did so, the shadows that the sun cast on the deck of the ship grew steadily longer. Longer shadows... it was like there were phantoms aboard the Highwind with them. Phantoms... Or just their memories.

Barret finally nodded. "You're right, Cloud." He turned towards Cait Sithe, which surprised the little stuffed toy. "You were right, too, Reeve." He sighed and shook his head, looking down. "Saving the planet... it sounds cool sayin' that. But... it wasn't always true. I was the one who blew up Mako Reactors. Lookin' back on it now, I can see that wasn't the right way ta do things."

Cait Sithe sighed, and closed his eyes. He had been angry when he had accused Barret of being no better than ShinRa. And now, Barret sounded like he was confessing his crimes. And Cait Sithe regretted his earlier words.

But Barret was glad he was making this confession. It was time he was honest with himself, and with his friends. He glanced apologetically towards Tifa. "I made a lot of friends and innocent bystanders suffer." He shrugged. "Honestly, it was always revenge. Revenge against ShinRa for wha' they did ta Corel. And now... Now... I'm fighting for Marlene. For Marlene..." His face softened considerably at the thought of the little girl. The girl he loved more than anything else. "For her future. I guess I wanna save the planet for Marlene's sake."

"Aeris said she was a special girl," Tifa whispered.

Cloud nodded and gazed at Barret. Other than Tifa, Barret had been the first person on this airship that Cloud had ever met. "You should go and see her. Make sure you're right. And then come back." He turned to look at the rest of his friends. "All of you should get off this ship and find your reasons for yourselves. I want all of you to make sure. We've only got a week left. We can't waste it. We need to know. And then we'll regroup, and head towards Sephiroth."

Cid frowned, crossing his arms. "Maybe ain't none of us gonna wanna regroup. Meteor's gonna probably kill us all anyway. Why bother struggling? Why go through all the pain?"

"I'm going to fight," Cloud replied softly. "I've made up my mind. I wanna save the planet... But I've got a very personal memory to see me through that." He glanced back at Cid. "If you can't find anything that'll see you through this, then I won't hold it against you if you decide not to continue with me. I won't hold it against any of you.

"The Highwind will take you all somewhere you wanna be," Cloud continued. "It'll give you a little less than a week, and then it'll come pick you up. If you're not waiting for it, I'll not press you to continue. If worse comes to worse, I'll fly the Highwind up to the Northern Crater by myself."

"By yourself?" Cid stared at Cloud critically. "Ya know how ta pilot this thing?"

"He's got a week to figure it out," Tifa cut in quickly. She stood beside Cloud, and took his hand in hers, gazing into his eyes. "Besides. You won't be fighting alone, Cloud. I... I don't have anywhere to go. I'll stay with you and help you pilot this thing and fight with you against Sephiroth."

"Tifa..." Cloud gazed down at her softly, before pulling her into a comforting embrace.

To the west, the sun continued to set.

OOOOOOO

Under Cid's instruction, Cloud and Tifa brought the airship around the world. They dropped off their friends, one by one, until they came to Rocket Town, where they dropped off Cid and his crewmembers.

The mercenary and the bartender then found themselves alone aboard the Highwind, with nowhere to go, and only one thing to do to pass the time. Fly the ship.

They knew there was a possibility that they would be going to the Northern Crater by themselves. If that turned out to be the case, then they would need to know how to get there piloting such a huge ship with no one to help them. It was difficult, and they found themselves too busy running around and keeping it in the air that they had no time to talk... No time to think... No time at all...

When they weren't piloting the ship, they were sleeping, for their work was exhausting, and when they were done at the end of each day, they were too tired for anything _but_ sleep.

Time passed quickly for them. As time passed quickly for their friends.

Cid and his crewmembers returned to Rocket Town. The Highwind's crew gathered with the Rocket's crew, and they talked and laughed and dreamt as they drank together in the town's tiny bar.

Cid found Shera in a small laboratory. She was dressed in a white lab coat, her hair was pulled out of her face, and she was wearing large glasses as she stood thoughtfully in front of a chalkboard covered in mathematical equations. At first, she did not see Cid, but when he came up behind her, she sensed him. Turning, she was literally shocked as he pulled her into a warm, forgiving embrace.

Time passed quickly for them.

Cait Sithe returned to Midgar. There, he worked on several plates while Reeve worked on several others. They gave whatever aid they could to help terminate the city's chaos and bring back some semblance of order. And as they did that, they spread warnings throughout the city that Meteor was coming, and that refuge should be taken. They helped people gather in the slums, where they might find some shelter should worse come to worse.

And as they worked, Reeve felt his heart lighten considerably despite the ever approaching threat of Meteor. He felt that he was doing good... Making up for everything he had done in ShinRa. Even the worst of men could change, he thought, if they truly wanted to. And if this was his last week alive, than he didn't want to be spending it doing anything else other than this... His last week alive would be spent helping the people of Midgar.

Time passed quickly for him.

Yuffie returned to Wutai. She waited for her father in his house, in his tearoom. She sat kneeling quietly as a servant informed the Lord Godo that she had come. And when the man walked into the room and knelt down on the floor before her, she did something neither of them had ever thought she would ever do. She slowly bent forward, and rested her forehead on the floor in a show of respect and honor.

After that, she spent the week with her father, roaming the city together, as he told her stories of Wutai's glorious history even as she dreamt of the city's glorious future.

Time passed quickly for her.

Vincent returned to the cave behind the waterfall. He hoped to see Lucrecia there, so that he might spend even just one last moment with her. That was all he ever wanted.

But when he reached the cave, and stood waiting in it, he found it abandoned. All that was waiting for him was a small woven basket of bread. It was the only hint that anyone aside from him had ever been in the cave at all.

Vincent sat down and waited, silently hoping to himself that she might return. He wanted to see her... one last time. So he spent the week alone, waiting for someone who wasn't going to come.

Time passed quickly for him.

Red Thirteen and Bugenhagen returned to Cosmo Canyon. They communed with their friends, and sat around the candle at night, taking comfort in each others' presence, and in the presence of the planet, who they had not lost faith in.

And one night, as they waited for the week to pass by, Red Thirteen sat by Bugenhagen's bed as the old man slept. Tears were in the great creature's eyes as men and women who both lived in and visited the canyon stopped by to give comfort to him and say farewell to the old man.

Bugenhagen woke only once in all that time, and when there was no one else in his home but Nanaki. He spoke to Red Thirteen of his father before finally falling back to rest. Red Thirteen left him then, for Bugenhagen would return to the planet, and must be allowed to do so with no hindrance.

He spent the rest of the week in mourning, the friends that he had long since made in the canyon never far away.

Time passed quickly for him.

Barret went to Kalm. There, as Cait Sithe had said he would, he found Marlene waiting for him. She was in the care of Aeris's mother, Elmyra, who had grown very fond of the little girl.

And as Barret held the child of his best friend, he could not meet Elmyra's gaze. When he told her that Aeris had died, she broke down. Barret and Marlene gave her whatever comfort that they could... For they had all lost loved ones.

Barret reflected on Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge... He reflected on his wife, on his friends' wives, and on all the others who had died in Corel at ShinRa's hands. And he thought of Marlene's father... Dyne. _"These hands are a little too stained to carry Marlene anymore."_

So were his... He gave Marlene the pendant that Dyne had made for his Eleanor, but had never been given the chance to present to her. He told Marlene that her father had wanted her to have it, and had loved her dearly. Perhaps Marlene was too young to understand what Barret meant, but Elmyra knew, and she wept for all who had died. Barret wept as well. Day by day, they wept, until their tears ran dry.

Time passed quickly for them.

Meteor drew frighteningly close to the planet. Cloud and Tifa landed the airship on the ground outside of Nibelheim. They left the airship, and stood in a wide field of flowers. Once upon a time, Aeris had been in that flower field, and she had loved it.

It was night out, and despite Meteor's presence, the stars and the moon were shining brightly. The mercenary and the bartender sat down in the field and gazed up at them.

"Do you think they'll come with us?" Tifa asked. It was the first time they had allowed themselves a moment to spend together. But even now they didn't look at each other. They kept their eyes focused on the stars.

"I don't know," Cloud whispered. "Everyone has an irreplaceable something they're holding onto. But... our opponent..." Their opponent was strong. Sephiroth... Meteor... Jenova... There still was so much left to fight. It would be easier to just sit back and allow Meteor to come rain down upon them. They had all been fighting for so long... and they were tired of it. They all were.

"But that's all right," Tifa said. "Even if no one comes back."

Cloud finally glanced at her in slight surprise, but didn't speak as she eased closer to him. She rested her head against his shoulder.

"As long as I'm with you," she said. "As long as you're by my side... I won't give up even if I'm scared." The surprising thing was that she didn't _feel_ scared anymore. There really wasn't any point in being scared. They knew what was coming, and for the first time, Tifa felt confident that nothing could surprise her anymore. All that was left for her to do was to see it stopped. And if they died... well... there were worse things than death.

She sighed and, for a moment, closed her eyes. "No matter how close we are now, we were far apart before this. But when we were in the Lifestream... surrounded by all those screams of anguish, I could feel you." She remembered it all too well. The hurt... the anger... the torment... The Lifestream had wanted to take it out on her... But Cloud had been there. She had felt safe with him. And now she was surprised to feel a single tear slide down her face.

"Yeah," Cloud looked down. "I could feel you, too, Tifa. You brought me back... from the stream of consciousness in the Lifestream." He took a deep breath. "I did promise, you know. That if anything were to ever happen to you, I would come to help."

"Cloud..." Tifa opened her eyes and gazed up at the sky, past Meteor and at the thousands of shining spheres that brightened the night. "Do you think the stars can hear us? Do you think they see how hard we're fighting for them?"

Cloud followed her gaze. The stars were so beautiful that night. You couldn't see them in Midgar, even on the top plate. But you could see them here, outside of Nibelheim. They were resplendent. "I don't know. But whether they do or not, we still have to do what we can. Even if no one's watching... Even if no one ever knows how hard we fight, we still have to do it. And we can't ever stop believing in ourselves." He glanced down at her, and as she rested against his shoulder, he rested his own head against hers. "I learned that from you in the Lifestream."

She sighed deeply. "That's right..."

"Tifa," Cloud whispered. "I... There are a lot of things I wanted to talk to you about. But now that we're together like this, I don't know what I really wanna say. I guess... some things haven't changed at all... Almost makes you wanna laugh." He didn't sound like he wanted to laugh. Neither of them did.

Tifa closed her eyes. She had felt the same way before. That there was so much she wanted to tell him. But she didn't know where to begin. She pulled away from him then, and gazed into his eyes. He gazed back at her, and she reached to take his hands in hers. "Words aren't they only way to tell a person what you're thinking."

A strand of her long brown hair had fallen free of its band, and fell across her face. And Cloud, ever so gently, reached to push it back behind her ear. A moment later, he leaned towards her, and brushed his lips against hers.

OOOOOOO

The stars were beginning to fade as the sun's rays silently swept across the morning sky. Cloud and Tifa lay in each other's arms in the flower field. He gazed up at that sky, even as Tifa continued to sleep.

Cloud took a deep breath, shifting ever so slightly so that he could better watch her sleeping form. But the movement caused her eyes to open and she looked up at him, even then still half asleep. "Hmm?"

"Sorry," Cloud whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you... It's dawn..."

She smiled softly. "Good morning..." She closed her eyes again and pressed closer against him. "Cloud... just a little longer...? Give me... a few more moments...? We're here now... together... You're... with me now... I don't want it to end."

Cloud nodded and pulled her closer in his arms. They could savor these last final moments. Who knew if they would ever come again...

OOOOOOO

Later that morning, Cloud and Tifa stood side by side aboard the deck of the Highwind. It was still on the ground, and they gazed rather dejectedly at their surroundings.

"It's a little lonely without everyone," Tifa noted. Cloud nodded, and made his way over to the helm.

"Come on," he suggested. "Let's see if we can get anyone to liven it up for us." Tifa nodded, and together, they somehow managed to once again get the Highwind in the air.

They flew to Rocket Town first. And as they had hoped, Cid was waiting for them with his crewmembers. They were all talking loudly as Cid smoked a cigarette in obvious impatience.

"If there's one scratch on her!" he shouted at Cloud as soon as he had climbed over the ship's side. "I swear you're gonna be in a _whole_ lot of shit!"

Cloud just smiled, shaking his head as he glanced over at the crewmembers, who were all climbing aboard as well. "I didn't expect all of you."

"Yeah, well," Cid glowered at them resentfully. "Damn flunkies won't get off my back."

One member of the crew smiled knowingly at his captain. "This is our home, sir. We're not gonna leave it."

"That's your fucking problem," Cid replied, crossing his arms as he turned and headed back towards the helm. "Now, Cloud, if you don't mind, I'm retaking command of the Highwind!"

Cloud smiled and nodded. "Be my guest."

They flew back to Cosmo Canyon next, where Red Thirteen was waiting for them as well. They landed the airship, and the great creature boarded with silent grace.

"How are you, Nanaki?" Tifa asked.

Red Thirteen sighed and looked down. Both Tifa and Cloud could sense that something was troubling the creature, but they didn't ask what it was, for he had then looked back up at them. "I shall see to the planet's need. I will go with you to defeat Sephiroth."

Together, they had the Highwind fly to Kalm, where Barret joined them as well. He, too, was solemn when he came aboard.

He glanced at Cloud. "I'm not doing this for anyone else but Marlene. I understand that now."

Cloud nodded. "That's good."

They returned to Midgar, where Cait Sithe was waiting for them.

Barret crossed his arms as the cat brought its moogle on board. "And here I was expecting Reeve to show up."

Cait Sithe returned his gaze sheepishly. "I wanted to come. But I'll stay in Midgar to help the people here. The toy will accompany you, and it'll work _really_ hard to do whatever it can. I'll be with you through it."

Barret sighed. "Yeah. Guess I've gotten used to your Cait Sithe. Wouldn't want it any other way."

The others agreed, and they turned to head back to Vincent's forest. He was standing in the field between the trees and the town, waiting for them.

Cloud was smiling when the Turk came aboard. "I'm kinda surprised you're here."

Vincent frowned at the mercenary. "Didn't you want me to come?"

"Yeah," Cloud nodded. "But... I wasn't sure if you really cared about what happens to the planet."

"I'm here," Vincent replied coldly. "Let's just finish this now."

"We gotta go get Yuffie!" Cait Sithe reminded them.

They reached Wutai, landed the Highwind, and got off to wait for her, for she was not there quite yet. And the longer they waited, the more impatient Barret seemed to grow.

Finally he rounded on Cloud and Cid. "Let's just get outta here! She ain't gonna show!" The others seemed saddened by that, but Barret just rolled his eyes. "Well, at least this time she ain't gonna steal our Materia! Let's be grateful for that!"

"How could you say that?"

The others spun around to look up at the airship from where they had heard a loud, boisterous, all too familiar female voice shouting at them. And sure enough, Yuffie was already onboard, standing at its rail and staring down at them from where they were waiting for her on the ground.

She glowered at Barret. "I came all this way after being sicker than a dog! I didn't go through that just so you guys could keep the best parts to yourselves!"

"Yuffie!" Cloud looked up at her in surprise. "How'd you get up there without us seeing you?"

She grinned mischievously. "I learned a couple of tricks from my dad!" She glared challengingly at the mercenary. "Let's just say _no _one is _ever_ gonna be able to tie me up again! Come on, let's go!"

Her friends rolled their eyes and shook their heads as they climbed back aboard the airship. Cloud stared at the teenager fondly. "Welcome back, Yuffie."

She looked back at him in wonder. "Thanks, Cloud. Never expected you to say anything like that... Especially back when I first joined up with you guys. Remember?"

"I remember," Barret grumbled. "Ya little thief." Yuffie beamed.

And Cloud couldn't help but smile. "We're all together again. I hoped we would be. I owe you guys all so much."

"We haven't done anything yet," Red Thirteen cut in. "It was her... She gave us this chance."

"Aeris..." Cloud whispered, feeling his heart grow heavy... but warm. The others could feel it too. Tifa... Barret... Nanaki... Yuffie... Reeve... Vincent... Cid... They were all together. And Aeris was in their hearts. They could all feel her presence.

Cloud glanced at each of his friends in turn. "She was smiling to the end. We have to end this. For her."

"No one has changed their minds," Cid assured him. "This is gonna be our last fight. Let's make it memorable."


	59. One Winged Angel

**Chapter Fifty-Eight: One Winged Angel**

_"Estuans interius ira vehementi. Sors – immanis et inanis. Estuans interius ira vehementi. Veni, veni, venias. Ne me mori facias. Veni, veni, venias. Ne me mori facias. Haryuu no hanekata. Veni, veni, venias. Ne me mori facias. Veni, veni, venias. Ne me mori facias. Sephiroth. Sephiroth."_

OOOOOOO

Meteor was closer to the planet than it had ever been before. It seemed to be approaching faster now. It kept getting larger and larger as each minute passed.

Ahead, Cloud could already see the mountains that surrounded the Northern Crater. The last time they had been there... didn't go so well. This time he could only hope that everything would turn out better.

Tifa stood beside him at the Highwind's bow. Barret, Red Thirteen, Yuffie, Cait Sithe, and Vincent stood behind them, watching as well. They all knew this would be it. They would free Holy so that it could destroy Meteor... or they would die trying.

The mountains passed underneath them, and suddenly they were flying over the crater. The Highwind lost its speed even as it lost altitude. Cid came running from the helm, moving to throw the rope ladder over the airship's side. He glanced at his allies, who had all turned to watch him. "You guys ready?"

Every single one of them hesitated. How could you prepare for something like this? They were walking headfirst into a crater where both Sephiroth and Jenova were waiting for them. For all they knew, they could be walking to their deaths.

Yuffie took a deep breath, trying to relax. She nodded, but more to herself than to anyone else. "Gotta do this for Wutai. Gotta show Sephiroth we're still strong. I can do it."

Red Thirteen moved to stand beside her comfortingly. "My father gave his life to protect Cosmo Canyon. If it's necessary, I will give my life to protect the planet. And Yuffie... it has been my honor traveling with you. Even if we don't succeed, you've already brought Wutai honor."

Yuffie smiled at him gratefully, but then that smile widened into a grin. "What cha talking about, Red Thirteen? Of _course_ we're gonna succeed!" She bolted towards the rope ladder. "Whatever Materia we find down there belongs to Wutai!" She jumped over the side of the ship and started down the ladder.

"She's insane," Barret shook his head as he allowed Red Thirteen to climb onto his back so that they might climb down the rope ladder after the teenager. Cait Sithe struggled to follow, and Vincent went down next. Tifa followed as Cloud glanced at Cid.

"Are you sure you want to come?" the mercenary asked the captain.

"Damn it Cloud!" Cid glowered at him. "Too late to be asking that! Get off! The captain gets off last!" Cloud nodded, and started down the rope ladder. Cid followed close behind.

They gathered in the center of the crater. Not far from where they were, they could see the caved in tunnel that had trapped Yuffie, Vincent, and the others underground the last time they had been there. They could also see the huge slab of Materia in which Sephiroth had been encased. It had broken since then, and Sephiroth's body was no longer inside.

In fact, there was no sign that Sephiroth was in the crater at all. No sign of Sephiroth, Jenova, or anything other than Avalanche themselves. It was like they were alone there in that crater... almost as if they were alone in the world.

Yuffie ran forward, looking around while the others stood back a ways, waiting rather nervously for something to happen. The teenager frowned, and looked back at them. "What now?"

Before they could even think of a response, the ground beneath them suddenly burst apart, as if something underneath had erupted.

They all screamed as they were thrown in various directions, with rubble and debris violently blowing around them. Dirt rose into the air as the ground continued vibrating, even after the first quake settled.

Tifa had an unpleasant déjà vu feeling, remembering how the ground had broken apart beneath her feet, rather like this, back in Mideel. She looked around for Cloud. He was lying not five feet from her, staring up at something behind her in alarm. Tifa felt her heart skip several beats as she turned to see what he was looking at.

It was a monster. A huge one, though not as big as either of the Weapons they had seen. Nevertheless, it was still enormous and frightening.

Cloud had seen it before. He had seen it in the Reactor on Mt. Nibel. Only now it was bigger... taller... it looked about the size of a full grown maple tree, and resembled a woman. Her arms and legs were lean, but powerful, and her fingers were like long claws. Her breasts were full, but she wore no clothes to cover her blue flesh. She had two red wings that extended out behind her like a dragon's. Her face was angelic, but expressionless. Over her head she wore band like one would wear a crown. Her hair was long and red, her eyes were glowing the same color as she stared down at the members of Avalanche.

Cloud felt his heartbeat race as sweat broke out on his face. "Jenova."

Tifa found it hard to breathe as she realized she was staring at the Calamity from the Skies. This was the monstrosity that had started it all.

Jenova suddenly turned her face and stared down at a tiny figure to her right. Cloud followed her gaze and saw that she was looking at Yuffie. The teenager was sprawled on the ground staring up at the monster in horror.

Jenova moved then with speed and grace none of them had been prepared for. She spun around, lifting up a leg that she then brought down on Yuffie. The teenager frantically rolled out of the way, and Jenova's foot landed a fraction away from the girl. Not one to waste time, Yuffie pulled free her four-bladed boomerang and lashed out towards the foot. But it moved too quickly, and the boomerang hit down on broken dirt.

Jenova was in the sky, her wings spread out behind her. Staring down at them, she held out a hand which began to glow red.

Vincent and Barret were immediately standing side by side, shooting rounds up at the monster. Vincent had a gun in each hand, and both men shot faster and with more savagery than they ever had before in their lives. And yet... for the first time... Barret looked halfway in control of what he was doing. He looked focused, and wasn't losing himself in the fight.

The bullets crashed into the monster, but they seemed to affect Jenova about as much as bullets affected Vincent. Meaning, not at all.

As they watched, Jenova's hand glowed brighter. There was something menacing about the way it shone, and the eight friends braced themselves for whatever was coming.

Yuffie, meanwhile, bit her lip and reached for the blue Materia her father had given her when she had conquered the pagoda. The Leviathan Materia... For the honor of Wutai... She closed her eyes and clutched the Materia tightly in her hands. It belonged to her... This piece of Materia she had not stolen... Maybe it could somehow help against this monster.

A blast of scarlet light shot down towards the crater from Jenova's hand. At the same time, the Materia in Yuffie's shone azure. And without warning, water shot up towards Jenova's blast. No one could tell where the water had come from, but it was there, and it absorbed the attack that had a moment before been raining down on them.

And from that water came forth a serpent the likes of which they had not seen since the Weapon that had attacked Junon. It screeched in fury as it slammed into Jenova. Both it and the Calamity from the Skies were propelled out of the sky. They landed with such force against the ground that the entire crater trembled. Yuffie struggled to keep her balance as her mouth dropped open. That had been Leviathan! She stared down at the Materia in her hands and felt slightly intimidated by the power she had not known she possessed.

Leviathan burst into water as Jenova struggled to overcome that unexpected onslaught. But before she could, Red Thirteen raced forward, unwilling to waste any time allowing her to recover. He moved with speed and grace, leaping through the air and landing on her chest. Diving for her neck, he caught it in his teeth and bit down as ferociously as he could.

Jenova reached towards Red Thirteen with one arm and tore him from her neck. She violently threw him from her, and he crashed heavily against the side of the crater. He crumbled to the ground, and for a moment didn't move at all.

Suddenly Vincent was in the air above Jenova. He was in his monster form and he had both arms over his head. He slammed his fists down violently against her chest, bringing her back down to the crater floor. Before she could retaliate, he dove away from her, cautiously backing off.

Cid, meanwhile, had his spear in hand. He sprinted as fast as he could around the monster until he could see the side of her neck. There looked to be some traces of blood on it, where Red Thirteen had attacked her. Setting his jaw in determination, he threw his spear forcibly towards Jenova. Her eyes glowed as she saw it coming, and quickly threw up a hand to swat it away from her. The spear broke in half, landing uselessly on the ground.

Meanwhile, Cait Sithe had brought his moogle over to Red Thirteen. He hopped off of it and scurried to the larger creature's side. "Are you okay?" Red Thirteen grimaced painfully and glanced over at the smaller cat. He nodded as he pushed himself back up to his feet. He turned towards Jenova.

The monster was sitting up now, on her knees. Her eyes were glowing angrily, but her expression remained serene. She turned towards Vincent, and upon opening her mouth, fire blasted towards him as if she were a dragon.

Vincent leapt into the sky and somersaulted away from her attack. He was in his human form again, holding his guns towards her, and as he flipped through the air, he fired into her open mouth. The force caused her head to jerk backwards, though Vincent wasn't sure if she was actually in any pain.

The crater around them trembled. Tifa had pushed herself back up onto her feet and was watching the entire fight in pure horror. Her heart was racing faster than it ever had before as she wished to find some way to help... _Any_ way! But she fought with her fists... And Jenova seemed far too powerful for a girl like Tifa to fight without any weapons. She glanced behind her, to where she had last seen Cloud... But the mercenary was gone.

Jenova was in the air again. Now both of her hands were shining crimson. She raised them over her head, and then brought them down again with savage ferocity. Crimson light poured down towards them like fire from Hell. And this time, Yuffie couldn't summon Leviathan to intercept the attack.

The red light was like burning fog, and when it surrounded them, the ground crumbled around them even as they felt their flesh smoldering. It was like acid, and they all screamed in pain. All of them... Tifa, Barret, Vincent, Cid, Yuffie, Cait Sithe, Red Thirteen, and –

Not Cloud. He was soaring through the air, above both Jenova and her crimson attack. His Buster Sword was in his hands and it seemed to shine with its own golden light. He screamed as he dove towards the Calamity from the Skies. And when Jenova looked up to see him, it was too late.

He fell upon her, bringing down his sword with fury unlike any he had ever felt before. The blade tore into Jenova's face, down her neck, and through her very body. And as he continued towards the center of the crater, he realized that he had successfully slashed Jenova in half. Two pieces of her body fell to the ground with him, even as her crimson light dissipated.

Cloud landed in a crouch beside Jenova's mangled body. He stood up, holding his sword in hand as he glanced towards his friends. They were all laying on the ground, staring weakly up at him as they struggled to recover from that last painful attack. Their clothes were tattered, and their bodies were scratched and bleeding. But none of them looked like they were suffering from anything that wouldn't heal. Which was good, because they weren't done here yet.

Suddenly, as if to prove his thoughts correct, the ground beneath them violently quaked yet again. And then it tore apart, crumbling underneath them. They found themselves falling underground, towards the planet's core, and all of them, with the possible exception of Cloud and Vincent, screamed in horror as they went.

Several feet down, they landed on a solid ledge on their hands and knees. Cloud somehow managed to hold onto his sword as the ground began settling around them. There was rubble everywhere, and the dust was so thick that it was like a fog. Cloud pushed himself to his feet and glanced around. Vincent was standing to his left, Tifa was weakly on her feet behind him. To his right, Red Thirteen was standing over Yuffie, Barret, and Cid, the three of whom were still on the ground. Cait Sithe was clutching his moogle in utter fear – despite the fact that as a toy, he wasn't in any immediate danger.

Cloud shook his head slightly and looked ahead of him. Something was approaching through the disgustingly thick dust. Cloud tensed as he felt him coming. Sephiroth. He appeared through the fog, wearing black pants, but nothing to cover his broad chest. His silver hair swept down behind him as his blue eyes shined with both hate and cold anger. In his hand he wielded the Masamune, and Cloud knew that this time, the great warrior would not spare any lives. He was going to kill them.

Cloud held up his Buster Sword. He could tell that Jenova's last attack had greatly weakened his friends and that they would not be able to fight with all their strength this time. More than likely, Cloud would be facing Sephiroth alone.

The man tossed up his free hand, and all eight of them were viciously thrown backwards. They landed heavily on the ground, and even Cloud felt his breath leaving him completely.

"Sephiroth..." He winced in pain as he sat back up and looked over at his long time enemy. Sephiroth was watching him coldly, but Cloud's eyes were suddenly drawn to the ground at the man's feet. The very ground that Sephiroth stood upon was starting to glow... It was glowing brilliantly blue and white like nothing the mercenary had ever seen before. And Sephiroth hardly seemed to notice!

Tifa sat up weakly and glanced at the glowing light as well. It reflected off her eyes as they widened in surprise. "Cloud! What is that?"

Cloud could barely breathe as Sephiroth glanced down and saw the light beneath him. And the mercenary could feel it... could feel _her_... And he couldn't look away from it even as he answered Tifa. "It's... Holy..." A small smile formed on his lips. "Holy is shining... Aeris's prayer is shining through!"

One by one, the members of Avalanche looked towards the light that was beginning to break free. This was what they had come here for!

Tifa felt tears in her eyes. "Holy... Aeris..."

Sephiroth looked back at Cloud and started towards him, lifting the Masamune as he went. Cloud was immediately on his feet and lifted his own blade to meet Sephiroth's. The two blades crashed against each other and were held there, as the two men fought to push the other back.

Cloud stared into Sephiroth's eyes even as Sephiroth stared back. They both felt hate and rage flowing through their veins as they pulled all their strength into their arms and shoulders, trying to overpower the other. Behind Sephiroth, Holy shined brighter. Aeris was there now... Cloud could sense her. And as he fought against Sephiroth, the man's hold on Holy weakened, and Aeris was there to see it break past its barriers.

Without warning, Sephiroth jumped backwards. His sudden retreat caused Cloud to literally fall forward, and he landed on his hands and knees. Sephiroth dove towards him once again, lifting the Masamune and bringing it down towards Cloud's neck. The mercenary barely had time to somersault forwards and away from an attack that would have decapitated him. He landed in a squat, and quickly rose to his feet and turned to meet Sephiroth's blade as it once again flew towards him.

Sephiroth pulled away and lunged from another direction. Cloud quickly swung his blade around to meet Sephiroth's. They fought that way for several minutes, moving so quickly that the others could barely keep up as they watched.

Cloud felt his arms shaking as they grew tired. Sephiroth, however, barely looked winded while Cloud felt ready to drop from exhaustion. But Sephiroth's attacks kept coming and it was all Cloud could do to hold him off.

They had fought moving in a circle. Sephiroth was now between Cloud and his friends. Cloud felt his heart racing faster as he struggled to keep calm. But Sephiroth seemed to be bearing down on him with greater power than before, until finally Cloud tripped and found himself on the ground at Sephiroth's feet.

"Cloud!" Tifa screamed as she watched Sephiroth tower over the mercenary. The girl didn't even think as she once again found herself charging towards a man who was by far stronger than she.

Sephiroth had barely glanced over his shoulder to see her coming when she reached him. She jumped into the air, spinning around and sending her leg crashing against his side. The force of her spinning kick propelled Sephiroth both away from Cloud and down to the ground. Tifa whirled towards him, standing protectively over Cloud as their enemy calmly regained his feet.

She tensed, her body feeling leaden as Sephiroth gripped the Masamune tighter in his hand and started towards her. Cloud weakly got back onto his knees, but he was still too busy struggling to catch his breath. Instead, he reached for the gray Materia that Tifa had given to him and he had yet to return.

_I can do this,_ Tifa felt her body trembling as Sephiroth continued towards her. _I'm strong enough... I can help the planet..._ Sephiroth lashed the Masamune at her, but she jumped high into the air, easily vaulting above the blade. His eyes followed her as she once again swung her leg around towards him. He lifted the Masamune to meet her, and Tifa realized too late that he was faster than she, even now.

"Tifa!" Cloud shouted in pure terror. He had already lost Aeris by that blade! He couldn't lose Tifa, too! The gray Materia in his hand abruptly flashed with blinding brilliance around them. It shone with more radiance than even the light of Holy. Sephiroth shouted in unexpected agony as the ground once again quaked around them. Rubble came crashing down from above them even as the ground beneath them fell apart.

They all found themselves falling towards the planet's core. Yuffie reached for Cait Sithe as she screamed, grabbing his moogle while they fell. A moment later they landed heavily on another ledge. Cid, Vincent, Barret, and Red Thirteen landed on the same ledge next to them.

Several yards away, Tifa and Cloud landed heavily on another ridge. They both looked up in alarm, but the shaking had stopped and for a moment everything around them seemed calm. Sephiroth was no where in sight.

"He must have fallen," Yuffie theorized, glancing down over the ledge. It was dark beneath them. Yuffie didn't know how far down she would fall if she were to jump. But then, she wasn't stupid enough to try.

"Then is that it?" Cait Sithe asked somewhat fearfully. "Is he gone?"

"I hope so," Cid grumbled. "That fucker's a pain in the ass."

"But what about Holy?" Barret demanded, looking around. "What's gonna happen to the planet?"

"I don't know," Cloud shook his head even as his heart raced faster and faster. The last time Sephiroth had fallen to certain death, he had survived. And Cloud was uncertain that it would be any different this time. He glanced towards Barret. "The rest is up to the planet."

"How do we get out of here?" Tifa asked, looking up towards the sky. They had to have been a good twenty feet below the planet's surface, and gazing up towards it as she was, all she could see was Meteor. It was approaching with terrifying speed.

Cloud looked back down towards the planet's core. He couldn't think of Meteor right now. Sephiroth was still down there! Cloud gripped his sword tightly in his hand as he leaned over the edge of the ridge in alarm.

"Cloud!" Tifa grabbed his shoulder. "What's the matter? What are you doing?"

"He's still alive," Cloud told her as his heart beat in his throat. His head was pounding in a near panic as laughter rang in his ears.

"What?" Tifa stared at him in shock. "Cloud!"

"He's laughing," Cloud whispered. He rolled off the edge and fell.

"Cloud!" Tifa screamed as she reached to stop him. But she was too late. She screamed again as she watched the mercenary plummet towards the planet's core.

OOOOOOO

Everything was dark. Cloud was falling headfirst into darkness. Above him he could sense Meteor crashing down on the planet. The wind was like a hurricane, and Cloud felt it as he continued falling.

The moon was no bigger than a distant burnt out star whose light barely reached the planet when compared to Meteor. But Cloud, though he sensed it, could not see it. He was falling away from it.

He opened his eyes and looked down. Sephiroth was standing below him, looking up at him with a small, anticipating smile. His long, silver hair billowed behind him as his blue eyes glowed cruelly and evilly. The ground he stood on was completely black and looked like marble. Everything around Sephiroth was dark. It was like he was waiting in a void for Cloud. And he was holding the Masamune ready.

Cloud held up his Buster Sword, and as he came down on Sephiroth, he swung it. Sephiroth blocked with the Masamune, and Cloud was propelled backwards. He landed solidly on his feet, and the two men stood facing each other, silently gazing into the other's eyes. Eyes that glowed from Mako exposure.

_This man killed Aeris._

_He destroyed your home._

_He killed the people you loved._

_He hurt Tifa._

_He killed in countless massacres._

_He tormented you endlessly._

_He's trying to destroy the planet._

_He killed Aeris..._

_He hurt Tifa..._

_He is responsible for so much misery._

Cloud could not stand the sight of him. He could not help the anger and rage that flowed through his veins, the likes of which not even Jenova herself had witnessed. He could not stop the power in him that built up and up inside his soul until the pressure was too much for him to contain.

He let it all out in an eruption that violently shook the very void he had fallen into. "Omnislash!"

Sephiroth saw Cloud's blade flying towards him, but he was helpless to defend against it. Metal ripped through his flesh and the steel brought blood flooding forth from a fatal wound. Sephiroth barely had time to feel any shock at all before his entire body burst into silver rays of light. The light turned red as the rays dissipated into spheres. Those spheres turned violet as they dissolved into nothingness.

And Cloud himself was suddenly left in a void shrouded in darkness.

OOOOOOO

_"Estuans interius ira vehementi. Sors – immanis et inanis. Estuans interius ira vehementi. Veni, veni, venias. Ne me mori facias. Veni, veni, venias. Ne me mori facias. Haryuu no hanekata. Veni, veni, venias. Ne me mori facias. Veni, veni, venias. Ne me mori facias. Sephiroth. Sephiroth."_


	60. The Lifestream

**Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Lifestream**

Cloud was alone in a dark void that was both silent and cold. Nothing moved. There was no sound at all. And Cloud felt terribly alone as he sheathed his sword.

Had it ended? Sephiroth was gone now. He had seen to that himself. But now... He was alone in a world the likes of which he had never imagined. It was empty. Everything was empty. There was nothing...

Cloud sighed, wondering if it would now be okay for him to give up. It must be, right? What was left now?

He glanced down at the gray orb he held in his hand. Tifa's Materia... If for nothing else, he should find a way to escape this void so that he might have a chance to give it to her.

Something beneath him began to shine.

Cloud frowned and looked down. The black floor that so resembled marble was glowing green. Light suddenly streamed upwards from the floor and circled around him like a ribbon. Green... like the world of his subconscious had been green. It glittered around him, like a ribbon, and now with several spheres as well. It was a dazzling sight, and Cloud was awed by it.

"...Lifestream...?" The Lifestream in Mideel had been turquoise. But here it was green. A fresh green. And Cloud thought he preferred it this way. It suddenly blossomed silver, and Cloud felt his body being lifted up.

His heart was racing again, but not from fear... It was racing from his complete exhilaration. There were few words to describe the ecstasy he felt lost in. He looked up as he was completely bathed in greenish white light.

A hand slowly reached down towards him from above. He gazed at it curiously as the hand searched for his. It was beautiful... Hope filled up in his heart as one name crossed his mind.

He lifted his own hands towards hers. He reached for her... fought to stretch far enough so that he could touch her fingers again. Even if it was only just for one more moment... that would be enough...

The green light suddenly vanished and Cloud found himself pushed up against the wall of what appeared to be a cliff. His body started falling again, and alarm shot violently through his heart. He quickly grabbed whatever holdings he could find and held on as tightly as he could.

He glanced up and saw Tifa sitting on a ledge above him. She was reaching down towards him, holding her hand out for him to grab even as she called his name.

"Tifa!" he shouted. He felt the cliff he clung to tremble, and suddenly, as he watched, the ground beneath Tifa broke apart, and both pieces of the planet and the girl herself tumbled towards him. She was screaming.

Cloud braced himself, holding onto the cliff with his right hand as he reached with his left to catch Tifa. She fell into his arm, grabbing onto him as he caught her. The force almost sent them both careening towards the planet's core, but somehow the mercenary held on, and didn't let go of either the cliff wall or the girl.

"Cloud!" Tifa clung tightly to him as he pulled her close. She closed her eyes in despair. "You scared me."

"It'll be okay," he whispered, even as he held onto the cliff with just one arm... an arm that felt like it was quickly being ripped from its socket. He glanced at her, ignoring the pain. "I think I'm beginning to understand."

She opened her eyes and looked at him uncertainly. "What?"

"An answer from the planet," he said. "The Promised Land... I think I can meet her there."

She stared at him, knowing instantly what he was talking about. So even now... he loved her. But that was okay, she thought. Because it was impossible not to. She smiled and nodded. "Yeah... Let's go meet her."

Cloud nodded himself and started climbing up towards the edge of the cliff. Tifa soon found holdings of her own, and she broke away from the mercenary, climbing by herself. After all... she had been born to do such things. She pulled herself up over the ledge first, and Cloud followed suit. They sat down on it together, catching their breaths as Cloud's arm literally pulsated in strained fatigue. But the pain didn't bother him at all.

Glancing over the edge, he looked down towards the planet's core. It was literally sparkling in bright blue light. Holy. The only thing that could stop Meteor. It was rising up from the core... coming towards them from below as Meteor headed towards them from above.

Cloud caught his breath and looked back at Tifa. "Where is everybody?"

"Hey!"

The cry came before Tifa could reply. Both she and the mercenary glanced upwards to see Barret looking down at them from a ledge both above and across from them. At his side, they could see Cait Sithe, Red Thirteen, Cid, Yuffie, and Vincent. They all looked perfectly fine, despite their situation.

Tifa breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you're all safe."

Barret stared back down at her as he tried to overcome his own panic. First he had seen Cloud voluntarily roll off the ledge and fall to certain death. Then he had seen Tifa try desperately to follow him down to save him. The leader of Avalanche had been fairly certain that he would never see either of them alive ever again. He wasn't sure if he could keep taking stress like this anymore. It was a struggle to breathe. "They both seem to be safe, too."

Yuffie glanced around frantically. "But what are we gonna do now? How are we gonna get outta here?" They all looked up, but the surface of the crater seemed much too far away.

Red Thirteen then stared down at the core. The blue light was rising. He shuddered slightly. "Holy's coming now. Pretty soon this place is gonna be overflowing in it."

"Is that gonna hurt?" Yuffie asked.

"Probably," Vincent shrugged. He was perhaps the only one of the eight friends who was perfectly composed. "If Holy considers humanity bad for the planet, being here right now could hurt a lot." Yuffie's face paled.

Cid had a cigarette in his mouth and he was lighting it. If he was going to die at any fucking moment, than it was going to be while he was having a fucking smoke, and that was that! He inhaled deeply and glanced back up towards the planet's surface. What he saw there surprised him so mightily that the cigarette he had been so determined to enjoy fell from his mouth and landed on the dirt. "The _hell_?"

The others glanced up in equal shock and watched as the Highwind lowered itself into the crater.

"The airship!" Yuffie squealed as hope bubbled up inside her. Maybe this wasn't the end after all. The rope ladder fell towards them, like a ladder leading up to their salvation.

OOOOOOO

In the town of Kalm, Marlene was sitting at a table in the upstairs room she had been given by Elmyra. There was a warm drink on the table's surface, and as the little girl waited for it to cool down, she colored on a piece of paper with the marker Reeve had given her. She sighed as she stared down at the image of him that she had drawn. She missed him. Her papa had come to see her, though. He had given her a pretty pendant.

She wore it around her neck, and it made her feel special. She smiled slightly and reached to touch her mug. It still felt unnecessarily warm. She would wait another few minutes before drinking it.

Marlene abruptly looked up as a warm sensation passed through her and flowed straight into her heart. She frowned and turned around, half expecting someone to be there in the room with her. But she was still alone...

"Flower girl?"

She hopped off her chair and started towards the window. It was closed by a single wooden shutter, but that problem was easily fixed. Marlene gently pushed it open and gazed outside.

At first, everything seemed normal. It was nighttime out, and Marlene knew Elmyra would be coming upstairs to check on her soon.

But then Marlene looked up into the sky. Meteor! It was shining in a terrifyingly crimson hue. And it was headed towards the ground! Marlene's mouth opened in surprise. For a long time, she had lived in Midgar... in the seventh sector she had never seen the sky. Since leaving the city, she had constantly watched Meteor approaching, and had never thought, not even once, that it should be otherwise. Any yet now, as she watched, even _she_ knew something was wrong. Horribly wrong.

OOOOOOOO

From the airship's deck, Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Red Thirteen, Yuffie, Cait Sithe, Vincent, Cid, and the crewmembers watched as Meteor radiated crimson light brighter than even the light created by Jenova. It was crashing down towards the planet like a whirlwind of titanic proportions. The most destructive of hurricanes, tornadoes, and lightning storms, even if they were _combined_, would have seemed like a tiny spring shower compared to this. And Cait Sithe was losing it.

"It's heading straight towards Midgar!" he was shrieking as he clutched tightly to his moogle. His friends turned towards him in alarm as his stuffed body convulsed in fear. "It's going to destroy us all!"

Barret looked frantically back out towards the crimson light. It was over the city! From where they were in the airship, far to the north, Midgar could not be seen. But Meteor, as enormous as it was, could be, even from so far away. And there was no mistaking the direction it was headed in. "Midgar...?" His voice trembled in despair. "We can't let anything happen to Midgar!"

OOOOOOO

The light of Meteor lit the city brighter than it had ever been lit before. It was consumed in that destructive crimson energy. Pieces of the plates began breaking apart. Buildings fell. The cannon disintegrated. And Meteor drew ever closer, a brilliant crimson aura bathing around it.

OOOOOOO

Cait Sithe was in tears. "I had everyone take refuge in the slums! But it's too late! Midgar's falling to pieces!"

The crimson light was spreading. Meteor was falling with petrifying speed. And those standing on the Highwind could only watch in helpless terror.

"What are we gonna do?" Yuffie squealed in a panic. She turned towards the people who were now as close to her as family. "What are we gonna do? Cloud?" The mercenary slowly shook his head, his face drained of color.

"Wait," Vincent suggested, as always, perfectly composed. "Holy is coming."

Sure enough, as they watched, a bright, blue white light tore from the Northern Crater like a javelin. It raced towards Meteor at an impossible speed that the Highwind could never hope to have matched. And to Tifa it looked, for all the world, like a dazzling shooting star.

"Holy..." she whispered.

It found its target. It crashed into Meteor causing a wave of both thunder and lightning as it ripped through the large mass of destructive magic. For a few moments, the crimson light that was bathing both Meteor and the planet transformed into an alluring shade of sapphire. It was stunningly beautiful.

But more often than not, beauty can prove deceptive. For even as they watched, the blue light faded back to its original crimson. And the crimson was now brighter and more terrible than it had been before. And it kept growing more so.

"What the hell?" Cid leaned over the railing in shock. "Thought it was supposed to _destroy_ Meteor!"

"No," Red Thirteen shook his head in alarm. "We were too late! Holy is making Meteor stronger!"

"But _how_?" Yuffie demanded furiously. "We beat Sephiroth! We freed Holy! Why can't it do its job?" There were tears in her eyes. "We won! This isn't fair!"

"Meteor's going to destroy everything now..." Tifa whispered. "If Holy couldn't stop it... There's nothing left..."

OOOOOOO

Meteor was nearly on top of the planet. Its crimson energy was already consuming Midgar. Its tendrils were reaching towards Junon and other surroundings areas. There were several eruptions, and much of Midgar was in flames. From space, if anyone had been watching, they might easily have mistaken the planet for a star, and a star that was flaring apart... Exploding... Dying... For that was what was happening to the planet... It was dying.

OOOOOOO

Tifa's hands raised up to cover her mouth. She couldn't believe this was happening! Tears stung in her eyes, and she wanted nothing more than to look away. This was how they were being paid. They had fought so hard and for so long. They had defeated Sephiroth and Jenova. They had freed Holy! They had done everything Aeris could possibly have wanted them to, and it didn't matter. They were still going to die.

_"Do you think the stars can hear us? Do you think they see how hard we're fighting for them?"_

No. If they could... If they did... Wouldn't they care? Wouldn't they care about how much the members of Avalanche had suffered? Wouldn't it make some kind of difference?

_"You could become one with the planet, but you're not. You won't let it happen. Why? For the future? For us?"_

Tifa didn't know why the words that Aeris had spoken at the Temple of the Ancients had entered her mind here and now. But as soon as they did, she thought of other words that the Cetra had once told her.

_"I can hear the planet, Tifa. It tells me... that there is no reason to abandon all hope. For the planet is strong, and does not want to die."_

That didn't make a difference now. Meteor was literally upon them. It crimson light was blinding. They could all feel it. They could all feel death falling in around them. If the planet didn't want to die... it was too late. Holy had failed.

She glanced at Cloud, and could tell he was thinking of similar things. Humans deserved death. Yet they fought so hard for life. But now none of that mattered, because Meteor was going to destroy them all anyway. They could fight to protect the planet no longer. There was nothing left for them to do but wait.

And yet...

Maybe Aeris had not spoken too soon. Maybe there was such a thing as grace. Maybe the planet knew that humanity deserved death, and that, even though it was in such pain and anguish, it actually _didn't_ hold humans at fault. Maybe it was merciful enough to spare them, even though _they_ might not do so in return. If such unmerited grace truly existed in the universe, than it would have to be displayed now... and it would have to be displayed by the planet... by those who returned to the planet... and by the one thing that held the planet, and the souls of _all_ living things, together.

For as Tifa watched, beautiful, graceful, and soft ribbons of green light seeped up from the very ground. Her tears dried instantly as awe took their place. Tendrils of green energy lifted towards the sky in every direction that she could see. Her heart caught in her throat. "What's that?"

The others were watching in equal wonder. Tiny spheres of green light danced around the glowing ribbons that streamed steadily towards Meteor. And as they watched, the crimson light began to fade.

Barret nearly choked on his words. "What the hell is that?"

The green ribbons danced around Meteor. The crimson light was gone entirely now, replaced by greenish white streams of energy. They bathed over the ultimate destructive magic... The passivity in the green streams of light outweighed the feel of death emanating from Meteor, and the transition from despair to hope was both smooth and gentle.

Cloud smiled as he watched. He reached for Tifa's hand as he answered Barret's question. "The Lifestream."

They watched in complete wonder as a miracle they had not foreseen shined brightly from above. Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Red Thirteen, Yuffie, Cait Sithe, Cid, and Vincent all felt the warmth of the Lifestream as it surrounded Meteor and glowed brighter and brighter until it was no longer green at all, but white. A white resplendent light that flared around Meteor until Meteor itself was gone.

OOOOOOO

Marlene watched at her window in the town of Kalm. There was a small smile on her face as this all took place. Her eyes were alight as brightly as the Lifestream. She could not remember ever feeling greater happiness. "It's coming."

OOOOOOO

Aeris gently opened her eyes and looked forward. She was bathed in the green energy of the Lifestream, and for the first time, the souls around her were not in any pain. It was done. She held out her arms and smiled.


	61. Epilogue: A Verdant Future

**Epilogue: A Verdant Future**

**(Five Hundred Years Later...)**

He raced through the hills. His movements were faster than lightning and more graceful than flowing water. And all he could feel was the purest of joy and freedom that came with running across the land.

His coat was red... It gleamed brighter than the sun. His heart soared even as he came to an immediate halt at the crest of the hill. His tail flicked around sharply as he gazed into the distance over the horizon.

Two cubs came sprawling after him, growling at each other in playful challenge as they hopped around their guardian, fighting for his attention. They were both so young... two cubs who knew not of the sacrifices that had been made to bring them this beautiful, ideal wilderness. They knew not of the pain and anguish that those before them had suffered so that they might have this world that was so verdant... so full of life and majesty.

But _he_ did.

Nanaki focused his gaze out over the horizon. From here, he could see Midgar in the distance. The cubs were not impressed by the sight, but _he_ was. Nanaki was both impressed, and pleased.

Midgar lay before them now, its foundations crumbled into an enormous pile. Never before had there been such a ruin. No human could live there now, for it was no longer even a city. It _barely_ resembled a lost one. No. Today... It was a jungle.

_"They say you can't grow grass and flowers in Midgar."_

Yes. They had indeed once said that. But even the worst of wounds could heal, Nanaki thought to himself. Even the most terrible destruction can find repair. The Hell that was Midgar could – and had – blossom into a Haven of life.

Trees grew throughout the city. Greenery was everywhere. Flowers blossomed and birds sang through a wilderness of simple, lush, and lively splendor. This was Midgar. A forest of paradise.

Nanaki faced the jungle and lifted his head. He roared in a song of elation, and the two young cubs in his care immediately joined in to sing.

Meanwhile, the world around them seemed to echo with the laughter of its children.


End file.
